ILLINOIS    INSTITUTION 


LOCATED,  AT 


JACKSONVILLE,    ILL. 


1849-1893. 


.-••• 


BRIEF    HISTORY 


ILLINOIS    INSTITUTION 


EDUCATION   OF  THE   BLIND, 


LOCATED   AT 


JACKSONVILLE,    ILL. 


1849-1893.   , 


Presented  by  the  ILLINOIS  BOARD  OF  WORLD'S 
FAIR  COMMISSIONERS. 


JOHN  MORRIS  COMPANY,  PRINTERS, 

118  AND  120  MONROE  STREET, 

CHICAGO. 


SAMUEL  BACON  (Blind). 

1849-1850. 

W.  S.  PHILLIPS. 
1988-1890. 


DR.  JOSHUA  RHOADS, 

1850-1874. 


KEV.  F.  \V.  PHILLIPS. 

1874-1888. 


FRANK  H.  HALL, 

1890-1893. 


HISTORY 

OF  THE 

ILLINOIS  INSTITUTION  FOE  THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE 

BLIND. 

LOCATED    AT    JACKSONVILLE. 


The  question  is  often  asked,  "  How  did  it  happen  that  three  of 
the  twelve  State  Charitable  Institutions  Avere  located  at  Jackson- 
ville?" Briefly  the  answer  is  in  the  character  and  ability  of  the 
early  settlers  of  that  city.  Here  were  men  who  were  not  only  ex- 
ceptionally capable  in  the  management  of  affairs  but  who  were 
deeply  interested  in  every  public  enterprise;  who  abounded  in  good 
works — religious,  political,  educational,  and  philanthropic. 

A  leader  in  benevolent  and  educational  enterprises,  was  Judge 
Samuel  D.  Lockwood  whose  home  was  in  Morgan  county  from  1829 
to  1853.  His  name  appears  as  a  member  of  the  first  Board  of  Trust- 
ees of  every  state  institution  in  Jacksonville,  and  to  him,  perhaps, 
as  much  as  to  any  other  man,  is  that  city  indebted  for  the  location 
of  these  institutions  within  its  borders.  Associated  with  Judge 
Lockwood  in  philanthropic  and  educational  effort  were  Judge  Will- 
iam Thomas,  Col.  J.  J.  Hardin,  Dennis  Kockwell,  Col.  James 
Dunlap,  Judge  James  Berdan,  Dr.  David  Prince,  William  W. 
Happy,  Gov.  Richard  Yates,  Joseph  Morton,  Samuel  Hunt,  Dr. 
Nathaniel  English,  Joseph  O.  King,  Matthew  Stacy,  Julian  M. 
Sturtevant,  Dr.  Samuel  Adams,  and  Gov.  Joseph  Duncan.  Had 
these  men  settled  in  Peoria  county  or  in  Madison  county  instead  of 
Morgan  county,  it  is  altogether  probable  that  Jacksonville  would 
not  have  secured  for  itself  in  a  period  of  twenty  years  (1830  to  1850) 
Illinois  College,  The  Female  Academy,  Illinois  Female  College, 
Illinois  Institution  for  the  Education  of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb,  Illi- 
nois Hospital  for  the  Insane,  and  Illinois  Institution  for  the  Educa- 
tion of  the  Blind.  */.  9  o  *,  \ 

K  \ 


THE  DEAF  AND  DUMB. 

In  the  winter  of  1838-39,  Hon.  Orville  H.  Browning  of  Quincy, 
Illinois,  prepared  and  introduced  into  the  General  Assembly  of 
Illinois,  a  bill  for  an  act  to  establish  the  "Illinois  Asylum  (now  In- 
stitution) for  the  Education  of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb."  This  bill 
passed  the  Senate  without  a  dissenting  voice;  passed  the  House  of 
Representatives  by  a  large  majority,  and  was  approved  by  Gov. 
.  Thomas  Carlin,  February  23,  1839.  In  securing  the  passage  of 
this  bill,  Judge  Browning  was  ably  assisted  by  Hon.  William 
Thomas,  Hon.  Newton  Cloud,  and  Col.  J.  J.  Hardin,  of  Morgan 
county.  Presumably  through  their  efforts,  the  school  was  located 
at  Jacksonville.  The  "  Asylum  "  was  not  opened  for  the  reception 
of  pupils  until  December  1,  1845.  and  no  pupils  were  enrolled  until 
January  26,  1846.  This  was  the  first  of  the  great  State  Charitable 
Institutions  of  Illinois,  provided  for  by  legislative  enactment,  and 
theirs/  to  open  its  doors  to  the  unfortunate. 

THE  INSANE. 

In  response  to  a  most  eloquent  appeal  made  by  the  sainted  Do- 
rothea Dix,  a  bill  for  an  act  to  establish  the  "  Illinois  Hospital  for 
the  Insane  "  passed  both  houses  of  the  General  Assembly  with 
little  opposition.  It  received  the  signature  of  Gov.  Augustus  C. 
French,  March  1,  1847.  The  second  section  of  this  act  named  nine 
gentlemen,  all  residents  of  Morgan  county,  as  trustees.  On  March 
20,  1847,  the  Board  organized,  electing  Judge  Lockwood  as  Presi- 
dent, and  soon  after  agreed  upon  a  site  for  the  location  of  the 
Hospital  about  one  mile  south  of  the  Court  House  in  Jacksonville. 
The  first  patient  was  received  from  McLean  county,  November  3, 
1851. 

What  is  now  known  as  the  Illinois  Central  Hospital  for  the  In- 
sane was  the  second  o£  the  great  State  Charitable  Institutions  of 
Illinois,  to  be  provided  for  by  law,  but  as  will  appear  from  what  fol- 
lows, the  third  to  open  its  doors  for  the  reception  of  inmates. 

THE    BLIND. 

In  the  summer  of  1847,  Samuel  Bacon,  who  had  just  graduated 
from  the  Ohio  Institution  for  the  Instruction  of  the  Blind  at  Colum- 
bus and  Avho  had  been  employed  there  during  the  previous  year  as 
a  "pupil  teacher,"  determined  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  West. 
Accordingly  he  embarked  at  Cincinnati  with  the  intention  of  going 


to  Galena,  Illinois.  While  on  the  steamboat  below  St.  Louis,  he 
became  acquainted  with  a  gentleman  from  Southern  Illinois  who 
was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  then  in  session  at 
Springfield.  By  him  Mr.  Bacon  was  informed  that  a  large  building; 
was  about  to  be  erected  in  Jacksonville,  Illinois,  in  which,  wheo 
completed,  a  school  for  the  blind  was  to  be  opened.  Thinking  that 
he  might  obtain  employment  as  a  teacher  in  the  new  institution,  he 
turned  his  course  toward  Morgan  county  and  arrived  at  Jackson- 
ville, August  12,  1847.  Here  he  learned  that  the  supposed  insti- 
tution for  the  blind  was  a  hospital  for  the  insane. 

Mr.  Bacon  remained  several  days  in  Jacksonville  during  which 
time  he  met  Mr.  John  W.  Lathrop  and  by  him  was  introduced  to 
Dr.  English,  Judge  Lock  wood,  Judge  Berdau,  Dennis  Rockwell, 
and  others,  by  whom  he  was  encouraged  to  attempt  the  establish- 
ment of  a  school  for  the  blind. 

Concerning  the  visit  of  Mr.  Bacon  to  Jacksonville,  Mr.  Lathrop 
relates  several  interesting  incidents.  On  one  occasion  Mr.  Bacon 
was  in  Mr.  Lathrop's  store  in  consultation  with  Judge  Lockwood, 
Dennis  Rockwell,  and  others.  A  gentleman  entered  who  desired 
to  pay  a  note  the  amount  of  which  was  at  that  time  due  Mr.  Lathrop. 
The  note  was  produced  and  read  in  an  undertone,  but  loud  enough 
for  the  sensitive  ear  of  a  blind  man  to  hear  every  word.  The  note 
bore  an  endorsement  indicating  that  one  partial  payment  had  been 
made.  "  What  is  the  legal  rate  of  interest  in  Illinois?"  inquired 
Mr.  Bacon.  "  Ten  per  cent.,"  replied  the  holder  of  the  note,  and 
before  Mr.  Lathrop  with  paper  and  pencil  could  solve  the  problem 
presented,  the  blind  man  named  the  amount  due  which  proved  to 
be  correct  to  a  cent. 

Mr.  Bacon  inquired  if  there  were  any  blind  persons  in  the  vicin- 
ity. On  being  informed  that  there  was  a  family  near  Lynnville, 
eight  miles  distant,  in  which  were  one  or  two  blind  children,  he 
immediately  declared  his  intention  of  visiting  them,  and  that  he 
would  go  at  once.  Judge  Lockwood  suggested  that  without  doubt 
he  would  find  an  opportunity  to  rfcle  to  Lynnville  within  two  or  three 
days.  He  assured  the  Judge  that  he  would  rather  walk  than  wait 
one  day ;  and  as  soon  as  he  could  obtain  the  necessary  directions,  he 
started  on  his  midday  journey  in  the  dark,  afoot  and  alone.  He  reached 
Lynnville  before  sunset,  spent  the  night  with  Mr.  Hays  the  father 
of  the  blind  children,  and  returned  alone  to  Jacksonville  next 
morning. 


8 

Soon  after  this  Mr.  Bacon  visited  Springfield.  The  constitu- 
tional Convention  was  still  in  session  and  he  had  the  opportunity  of 
meeting  many  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  state.  On  all  proper 
occasions  he  urged  the  necessity  of  a  school  for  the  blind  of  Illi- 
nois. From  Judge  William  Thomas  of  Morgan  county,  who  was 
a  member  of  the  Convention  and  also  at  that  time  one  of  the  trus- 
tees of  each  of  the  two  state  institutions  already  located  in  Jackson- 
ville, he  received  some  encouragement,  although  coupled  with  the 
remark  that  it  would  require  a  very  skillful  and  persistent  effort  to 
succeed. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  at  this  time  the  state  was  just  emerg- 
ing from  a  period  of  very  great  financial  embarrassment.  In  1841 
Illinois  state  bonds  declined  to  fourteen  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  it 
was  many  years  after  this  before  the  Auditor's  warrants  were  always 
worth  the  amount  named  on  their  face. 

To  interest  an  already  overburdened  people  in  the  education  of 
the  blind  to  the  extent  that  they  would  be  willing  to  provide  the 
necessary  funds,  seemed  almost  a  hopeless  task.  But  toward  the 
accomplishment  of  this  most  humane  object,  Mr.  Bacon  had  set  his 
face  and  it  was  not  for  a  moment  in  his  thoughts  to  turn  back. 

He  left  Springfield  for  Galena,  going  by  stage  through  Peoria, 
Hennepin  and  Dixon.  While  on  this  journey  and  while  in  Galena, 
he  constantly  carried  in  mind  the  interests  of  the  blind  children  of 
Illinois.  He  kept  up  a  vigorous  correspondence,  gathering  all  pos- 
sible information  concerning  this  unfortunate  class  and  interesting 
the  friends  of  the  blind  in  the  prospective  institution. 

In  the  following  spring  he  returned  to  Jacksonville  and  on 
April  1,  1848,  met,  at  the  office  of  BroAvn  &  Yates  on  the  east  side 
of  the  public  square,  a  number  of  gentlemen  who  favored  his  enter- 
prise. It  was  then  and  there  determined  that  Mr.  Bacon  should 
continue  to  gather  information  which  would  show  the  necessity  of 
such  an  institution,  and,  as  soon  as  practicable,  open  in  the  city  of 
Jacksonville,  a  private  school  for  the  blind.  To  defray  the  ex- 
penses of  such  an  undertaking  a  subscription  paper  was  drawn  up 
and  circulated  among  the  citizens  of  the  town.  Judge  Thomas' 
name  appeared  at  the  head  of  the  list  with  a  subscription  of  $100 ;  Col. 
George  M.  Chambers  subscribed  $50;  Judge  William  Brown,  $50; 
Richard  Yates,  $25;  D.  A.  Smith,  $25;  Col.  James  Duniap,  $25; 
Harmony  Lodge  No.  3,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  $40;  Thomas  Officer,  $20. 
The  original  papers  cannot  be  found,  but  it  is  known  that  the  follow- 


9 

ing  names  in  addition  to  those  given  above,  appeared  on  the  list, 
the  amounts  subscribed  by  each  varying  from  $3  to  $15  or  $20: 
Samuel  Dunlap,  Prof.  Sturtevant,  Dr.  David  Prince,  George  Dun- 
lap,  Matthew  Stacy,  Joab  Wilkinson,  Rev.  Andrew  Todd,  Dennis 
Rockwell,  E.  Walcott,  Dr.  Samuel  Adams,  Judge  S.  D.  Lockwood, 
J.  W.  King,  J.  Neely,  Ira  Davenport,  James  Jackson,  J.  J.  Cassell, 
David  Robb,  Samuel  Markoe,  M.  H.  Cassell,  F.  Stevenson,  J.  H. 
Finch,  A.  Coffin,  William  D.  Freeman,  Cornelius  Hook,  A.  F.  Mil- 
ton, G.  W.  Harlin,  J.  O.  King,  and  Robert  Hockenhull.* 

Dr.  English  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  enterprise,  J. 
O.  King  collector  and  treasurer,  and  Judge  Berdan,  secretary.  Mr. 
Bacon  was  authorized  to  continue  his  work  of  securing  information 
concerning  the  blind  in  the  state  and  of  interesting  their  friends  in 
the  establishment  of  a  state  school.  For  this  purpose  he  visited 
many  counties  traveling  on  foot,  by  stage,  on  horse-back,  by  boat, 
and  by  wagon,  more  than  two  thousand  miles. 

A  PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOB  THE  BLIND. 

When  Mr.  Bacon  returned  to  Jacksonville  he  had  nearly  sixty 
names  of  blind  children  who  were  residents  of  Illinois,  many  of 
whom  he  had  visited.  Selecting  four  from  this  number,  George 
Springer  of  Adams  county,  John  Jones  of  Marion  county,  Joseph 
and  Nancy  Fielding  of  Pike  county,  a  school  was  opened  June  5, 
1848,  in  a  two-story  frame  building  which  stood  on  the  ground  now 
occupied  by  the  Wabash  depot.  Mrs.  Sarah  Graves  was  employed 
as  matron  and  Mr.  Bacon  was  the  teacher.  Miss  Sarah  Graves  a 
daughter  of  the  matron  did  much  reading  for  the  pupils  and  for 
their  teacher,  and  has  continued  to  read  for  the  teacher  ever  since 
that  time.  They  were  married  July  12,  1849,  and  are  now  living 
at  Nebraska  City,  Neb.  Later  one  or  two  pupils  came  into  the 
school,  but  the  four  named  seem  to  be  the  ones  upon  whom  Mr. 
Bacon  depended  to  prove  his  point,  namely,  that  it  was  worth  while 
to  attempt  to  educate  the  blind.  The  school  continued  in  session 
for  about  seven  months.  Of  the  work  done,  Mr.  Bacon  says:  "The 
pupils  were  taught  to  sing  twenty  quartettes.  The  geography  was 
elementary  as  we  had  no  maps.  In  arithmetic  they  were  taught 
all  forms  of  fractious,  also  cube  root;  and  they  were  able  to  solve 
any  arithmetical  question." 

*These  subscriptions  were  paid  in  installments  and  the  entire  amount  was  not  collected  as  the 
sum  subscribed  was  larger  than  was  needed  to  pay  the  expenses  of  securing  the  necessary  in- 
formation and  conducting  the  school. 


10 

On  the  3d  or  4th  of  January,  1849,  these  four  pupils  were* 
taken  to  Springfield,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  9th  they  were  ex- 
hibited before  the  members  of  the  Legislature  in  order  "to  satisfy 
them  that  the  blind  could  be  and  ought  to  be  educated."  On  the 
next  day  a  bill  for  "An  Act  to  establish  the  Illinois  Institution  for 
the  Education  of  the  Blind,"  which  had  been  prepared  by  Judge 
William  Thomas  and  introduced  by  Hon.  (afterward  governor) 
Richard  Yates,  passed  both  Houses  and  on  January  13,  1849,  was 
approved  by  Gov.  Augustus  C.  French.  The  blind  children  were 
sent  from  Springfield  to  their  respective  homes. 

Much  work  had  been  done  gratuitously  by  Mr.  Samuel  Bacon  in 
order  to  convince  the  citizens  of  Jacksonville  of  the  necessity  of  a 
school  for  the  instruction  of  the  blind  in  Illinois.  To  convince  the 
public  of  the  necessity  of  a  state  school,  cost  the  citizens  of  Jack- 
sonville in  money  expended,  about  four  hundred  dollars;  and  in 
addition  to  this,  prominent  and  philanthropic  residents  of  that  city 
devoted  much  valuable  time  and  effort  to  this  worthy  cause.  It 
need  not  then  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  legislative  enact- 
ment that  brought  the  school  into  existence,  named  in  its  first  sec- 
tion, five  Morgan  county  men  as  trustees,  and  that  section  twelve 
provided  that  the  school  should  be  opened  and  continued  in  or  near 
Jacksonville. 

THE  STATE  SCHOOL. 

TRUSTEES. 

SAMUEL,  D.  LOCKWOOD,  President. 

JAMES  DUNLAP,  W.  W.  HAPPY, 

DENNIS  KOCKWELL,  SAMUEL  HUNT. 

SAMUEL  BACON,  Principal. 

On  February  3,  1849,  just  twenty-one  days  after  the  bill  pro- 
viding for  the  school  became  a  law,  the  gentleman  named  in  the 
first  section  of  the  Act,  met  and  organized  by  electing  Judge  Samuel 
D.  Lockwood  president  and  Judge  James  Berdan  secretary.  At 
this  first  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  Mr.  Bacon  was  ap- 
pointed principal  of  the  school  at  a  salary  of  $600  per  annum,  and 
it  was  determined  that  if  a  suitable  building  could  be  secured,  he 
should  begin  work  on  the  first  Monday  in  April.  A  few  days  later 
Col.  Dunlap's  "Mansion  House"  situated  a  little  south  and  west  of 
Illinois  College,  was  rented  for  one  year,  at  $225.  Five  hundred 
circulars  were  issued  and  distributed  among  the  friends  of  the 
blind,  announcing  the  opening  of  the  school  at  the  date  named. 
Mrs.  Sarah  Graves  was  appointed  matron.  Mr.  Bacon  was  in- 


11 

structed  to  procure  the  necessary  books  and  apparatus,  and  at  the 
appointed  time  the  doors  were  thrown  open  for  the  reception  of 
sightless  students.  No  pupils  came  until  the  following  Saturday, 
April  7th.  On  that  day  George  Springer  of  Adams  county,  and 
Mary  Stuart  of  Madison  county,  came  to  the  "Mansion  House" 
and  were  duly  enrolled  as  students  at  the  Illinois  Institution  for 
the  Education  of  the  Blind. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  appear  that  this  institution  was  the 
third  of  the  twelve  state  charitable  institutions  of  Illinois  to  be 
provided  for  by  legal  enactment,  and  the  second  to  open  its  doors 
for  the  reception  of  inmates.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  all  the 
charitable  institutions  of  Illinois  that  were  established  "  before  the 
war"  were  located  in  Jacksonville. 

As  before  stated  the  first  term  of  the  state  school  began  in  April, 
1849.  It  continued  without  vacation  until  July  10,  1850,  a  period 
of  fifteen  months.  The  number  of  pupils,  small  at  first,  gradually 
increased,  until  on  the  2d  of  July,  1849,  there  were  fourteen  in 
attendance.  At  this  time  Mr.  Aaron  Rose,  a  blind  man  who  had 
been  educated  in  the  Ohio  Institution,  was  employed  as  teacher  of 
music,  and  Miss  Lavinia  Booth,  a  blind  lady  from  the  same  school, 
was  appointed  "  teacher  of  handicraft  in  the  female  department." 
By  the  end  of  the  term  the  number  of  pupils  had  increased  to 
twenty-three.  After  a  public  examination  they  were  dismissed 
until  the  first  Wednesday  of  October. 

ME.    BACON'S    RESIGNATION. 

On  the  24th  day  of  June,  1850,  just  before  the  close  of  the  first 
term  of  the  state  school,  the  Board  of  Trustees  ordered  that  $100 
be  allowed  Mr.  Bacon  to  defray  his  expenses  during  the  summer 
while  he  should  visit  institutions  for  the  blind  in  Boston,  Phila- 
delphia and  New  York.  Three  days  later,  there  being  some  dis- 
satisfaction in  regard  to  salaries,  Mr.  Bacon,  Miss  Booth  and  Mr. 
Rose  tendered  their  resignations  to  take  effect  at  the  close  of  the 
term.  These  were  promptly  accepted.  A  month  after  this  Mr.  Rose, 
at  his  request,  was  reinstated,  and  Mr.  Dennis  Rockwell  was 
authorized  to  visit  institutions  for  the  blind  in  the  East  for  the  pur- 
pose of  collecting  information,  of  procuring  needed  books  and 
apparatus,  and  of  engaging  a  competent  superintendent  who  should 
be  "a  seeing  man  experienced  in  the  conduct  of  a  blind  school." 

After   leaving   Jacksonville,   Mr.    Bacon   was    instrumental     in 


12 

establishing  two  other  schools  for  the  blind;  one  at  Vinton,  Iowa, 
and  one  at  Nebraska  City,  Neb.  He  is  now  (1893)  seventy  years 
of  age  and  is  residing  upon  his  own  farm  a  few  miles  from  the 
Nebraska  school.  He  is  a  living  proof  that  blindness,  though  very 
inconvenient,  is  by  no  means  a  bar  to  financial  success. 

PREPARATIONS     FOR    BUILDING. 

The  legislative  enactment  establishing  the  Illinois  Institution 
for  the  Education  of  the  Blind,  provided  that  "  the  proceeds  of  a 
tax  of  one-tenth  of  a  mill  upon  every  dollar's  worth  of  taxable 
property  in  this  State  "  should  annually  be  paid  to  the  trustees  for 
the  purposes  set  forth  in  the  bill.  To  enable  them  to  commence 
building  at  once,  the  sum  of  $3,000  was  appropriated  "out  of  any 
money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated." 

On  May  2,  1849,  the  Board  voted  to  purchase  twenty-two  and 
forty-five  hundredths  acres  of  land  that  was  a  part  of  the  Col. 
Hardin  estate,  and  is  situated  about  three-fifths  of  a  mile  east  of 
the  public  square  in  Jacksonville.  For  this  now  valuable  property 
they  paid  $75  per  acre.  Mr.  Napoleon  Koscialowski  prepared  the 
plans  and  specifications  for  the  building.  These  were  accepted  and 
work  was  begun  in  September,  1849;  but  at  the  close  of  the  first 
term,  July,  1850,  the  foundation  had  not  been  completed. 

DR.    JOSHUA    RHOADS    SUPERINTENDENT 1850  to  1874. 

In  the  summer  of  1850,  Mr.  Rockwell  visited  several  schools  for 
the  blind  in  the  East,  and  succeeded  in  securing  as  Superintendent 
of  the  Illinois  Institution,  Dr.  Joshua  Rhoads  who  had  formerly 
been  Superintendent  of  the  Pennsylvania  School.  Mrs.  Rhoads  was 
employed  as  matron.  On  the  first  Wednesday  in  October,  1850, 
school  opened  again  in  the  "  Mansion  House  "  with  eighteen  pupils 
present.  By  the  first  of  the  following  January  (1851)  the  number 
had  increased  to  twenty-three.  In  their  report  at  that  time,  the 
trustees  announced  that  "the  accommodations  of  the  building  which 
is  temporarily  occupied  for  the  purpose  of  the  institution,  are  not 
sufficient  and  no  more  pupils  can  be  received  except  as  vacancies 
may  occur  in  the  present  number." 

In  Dr.  Rhoads'  first  report  to  the  trustees  we  find  the  following 
"  Order  of  Business  " : 

"Rise  at  6;  prayers  and  reading  in  Bible,  6:45;  breakfast  7; 
literature  and  music,  8  to  12,  with  half-hour  iutermssion;  dine  and 


18 

recess  12  to  2;  literature  and  music  2,  to  6,  with  three-quarters  of 
an  hour  intermission ;  supper  and  recess,  6  to  7 ;  history,  7  to  8 ;  re- 
tire, 9:80." 

Of  the  progress  of  the  pupils  in  their  studies  Dr.  Rhoads  says: 

"  Two  years  only  have  passed  since  not  one  of  the  pupils  of  this 
institution  knew  the  letters  of  the  alphabet.  Now,  all  the  pupils  but 
two,  read  the  Inspired  Word  with  pleasure  and  profit.  The  benevo- 
lent heart  of  the  Christian  must  thrill  with  delight,  when  he  beholds 
the  blind  enjoying,  in  their  solitude  and  physical  darkness,  an  inti- 
mate communion  with  the  inspired  penmen,  and  feel  itself  repaid 
for  all  the  labor,  time,  and  attention  bestowed." 

During  this  term  Mr.  Rose  continued  in  charge  of  the  music 
while  the  superintendent  himself  did  all  the  teaching  in  the  literary 
department.  The  girls  were  taught  sewing,  knitting  and  bead  work 
by  the  matron. 

As  an  indication  of  the  difficulty  in  securing  the  necessary 
"  help"  at  that  time,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  records  show  that  Dr. 
Rhoads  was  allowed  $55.80  "  for  expenses  in  bringing  two  servant 
girls  from  Philadelphia." 

FAVORABLE    LEGISLATION. 

An  act  of  the  Legislature  of  1851  provided  that  for  two  years 
(1851-1852)  in  addition  to  the  tax  already  provided  for,  a  tax  of 
one-tenth  of  a  mill  on  every  dollar's  worth  of  taxable  property  in 
the  state  should  be  assessed  and  collected,  the  proceeds  to  be  applied 
to  the  completion  of  the  building  then  in  process  of  erection.  It 
was  also  provided  by  the  same  act  that  the  Governor  should  appoint 
five  trustees  for  this  institution,  and  biennially  thereafter,  should  ap- 
point five.  The  persons  appointed  in  accordance  with  this  act  met 
April  19,  1851,  but  did  not  organize  until  their  second  meeting 
which  occurred  April  29,  after  their  bonds  had  been  approved  by 
the  Governor. 

TRUSTEES. 

SAMUEL  D.  LOCKWOOD,  President. 

JAMES  DUNLAP,  SAMUEL  HUNT, 

W.  W.  HAPPY,  WM.  B.  WARREN. 

DR.  JOSHUA  RHOADS,  Principal. 

There  was  the  usual  vacation  in  the  summer  of  1851,  and  with 
the  walls  of  the  new  building  less  than  half  completed  school  opened 
in    the  "  Mansion  House  "  October  1.     Some  additional  as- 


14 

sistauce  was  employed,  and  the  superintendent  took  upon  himself 
the  instruction  of  the  male  pupils,  in  brush-making,  basket-making, 
and  rope-making. 

The  writer  is  unable  to  learn  the  number  of  pupils  in  attend- 
ance during  the  third  term  of  the  school;  but  at  the  close  of  the 
second  biennial  period  (January,  1853),  thirty-three  pupils  had 
been  enrolled  since  the  opening  of  the  state  school  and  twenty-five 
were  present.  The  family  in  the  "Mansion  House"  at  that  time 
consisted  of  Dr.  Rhoads,  Superintendent  and  teacher;  Mrs.  Rhoads, 
matron  and  teacher;  four  daughters  of  the  Superintendent,  the  eldest 
being  eleven  years  of  age  and  the  youngest  under  one  year;  Mr. 
Rose,  teacher  of  music;  Mr.  Dunham,  assistant  in  the  literary  de- 
partment; twenty-five  pupils  (eleven  males  and  fourteen  females)  ; 
"a  porter  and  three  female  domestics  by  whom  all  the  washing,  cook- 
ing, etc.,  for  the  establishment  was  done,  with  the  exception  of  the 
hire  of  a  washerwoman  one  day  each  week." 

MOEE    LEGISLATION. 

An  act  of  the  Legislature  which  became  a  law  in  the  spring  of 
1858,  provided  that  the  number  of  trustees  of  the  Institution  for  the 
Blind  should  be  six  inclusive  of  the  Principal  who  should,  exofficio, 
be  a  member  of  the  Board.  It  was  also  provided  that  a  majority  of  the 
trustees  should  reside  without  the  county  of  Morgan.  In  accord- 
ance with  this  law  Gov.  Matteson  appointed  a  new  Board  of  Trus- 
tees, and  on  March  15,  1853,  they  met  and  organized. 


BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES— 1853. 
SAMUEL  U.  LOCKWOOD,  Jacksonville,  President. 
NIVIAX  W.  EDWARDS,  SAMUEL  HUNT, 

MATTHEW  STACY,  SAMUEL  MARSHALL. 

JOSHUA  RHOADS,  Principal  and.  ex  offlcio,  member  of  the  Board. 

Afterward  Judge  Lockwood  removed  from  Jacksonville  to  Ba- 
tavia,  111.,  and  on  July  11,  1853,  Mr.  Stacy  became  President  of  the 
Board. 

In  the  autumn  of  1853,  school  opened  again  in  the  "  Mansion 
House;"  but  in  January,  1854,  the  work  on  the  new  building  had 
so  far  progressed  that  it  could  be  occupied,  and  accordingly  the  pu- 
pils with  their  officers  and  teachers  took  possession  of  their  new 
quarters. 

It  was  not  until  January,  1855,  that  the  building  was  fully 
finished  and  furnished.  The  Board  of  Trustees  then  announced 
that  they  were  "  prepared  to  receive  as  pupils  all  the  blind  of  either 


15 

sex,  capable  of  receiving  an  education,  within  our  State,   who  may 
apply  for  admission." 

In  the  fall  of  1853,  James  Dunlap  was  appointed  as  teacher  in 
the  Industrial  Department.  Soon  after  this  Mrs.  Dunham  accepted 
a  position  as  assistant  teacher  and  Mr.  Joseph  Ramsey  (blind)  was 
employed  as  a  teacher  of  music. 

LEGISLATION. 

In  1855,  that  part  of  the  law  of  1849  which  provided  for  the  levy- 
ing of  a  tax  of  one-tenth  of  a  mill  on  every  dollar's  worth  of  taxable 
property  in  the  state  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  fund  for  the  In- 
stitution for  the  Blind,  was  repealed.  The  amount  of  money  col- 
lected under  the  laws  of  1849  and  1851,  and  paid  over  to  the  trustees 
was,  including  the  $3,000,  special  appropriation  made  per  section 
14,  of  the  act  of  incorporation,  $99,431.90.  The  law  of  1855  appro- 
priated to  the  Institution  for  the  Blind  for  the  next  two  years  after 
its  passage,  the  sum  of  $14,000  per  annum. 

In  May,  1856,  plans  were  made,  bids  received,  and  the  contract 
awarded,  for  building  a  work-shop  sixty  feet  by  thirty  feet  and  two 
stories  in  height.  The  building  was  to  be  of  brick  and  to  cost  be- 
tween three  and  four  thousand  dollars.  Soon  after  this,  the  build- 
ing was  erected  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  "  East  Wing." 

January,  1857,  the  Superintendent  reported  as  follows: 

"Every  pupil  in  our  first  class  can  make  a  good  brush,  a  good 
broom,  a  tolerable  basket,  and  a  strong  rope,  in  addition  to  his 
acquirements  in  literature  and  music."  At  this  time  there  were 
fifty-six  pupils  in  attendance. 

LEGISLATION. 

By  a  law  in  force  February  13,  1857,  the  number  of  trustees 
was  reduced  to  five,  no  two  of  the  trustees  to  be  residents  of  the 
same  county.  It  was  also  provided  that  no  member  of  the  Board 
should  be  "  employed  or  appointed  in  or  to  any  office  or  place  under 
the  authority  of  the  Board;  and  that  no  member  of  the  Board 
should  be  "directly  or  indirectly  interested  in  any  contract  to  be 
made  by  said  Board  for  any  purpose  whatever."  It  was  further 
provided  that  the  accounts  of  the  institution  should  be  so  kept  and 
reported  as  to  show  the  kind,  quality,  and  cost,  and  of  whom  bought, 
of  every  article  purchased.  The  Board  appointed  under  this  law, 
met  and  organized  April  8,  1857. 


16 

BOARD  OF  TR  USTEES— 1857. 

MATTHEW  STACY,  Jacksonville,  President, 

S.  D.  LOCKWOOD,  Batavia,  WM.  H.  BROWN,  Quincy, 

JOHN  MAGOTTN,  WM.  BUTLER,  Springfield. 

DB.  JOSHUA  RHOADS,  Principal. 

The  law  of  1857  also  provided  that  "in  all  cases  where  the 
parents  of  pupils  sent  to  the  Institution  for  the  Education  of  the 
Blind,  are  too  poor  to  furnish  them  with  good  and  sufficient  cloth- 
ing, or  where  said  pupils  are  without  parents  and  unable  to  furnish 
themselves  with  such  clothing,  the  judge  of  the  county  court  of  the 
county  from  which  they  are  sent  shall  certify  the  same  to  the 
Principal  who  shall  procure  such  necessary  clothing  and  charge  the 
same  to  said  county  and  pre  sent  the  account  with  the  vouchers  to  the 
Auditor  of  Public  Accounts  who  shall  draw  upon  the  county  Treasurer 
for  the  amount  so  charged  to  the  county."  This  law  remained  in 
force  until  the  passage  of  a  law  now  in  force,  that  made  the  same 
provision  for  pupils,  but  changed  the  method  of  collecting  the 
amounts  due  the  institution  from  the  several  counties. 

To  secure  the  attendance  of  pupils,  notices  were  sent  to  the 
editors  of  newspapers  throughout  the  state,  informing  the  people 
that  the  doors  of  the  institution  were  open  to  every  blind  child 
within  the  limits  of  the  state.  Once  in  two  years,  the  Principal 
accompanied  by  a  number  of  pupils  (usually  twelve),  visited  many 
large  towns  giving  concerts  and  exhibitions.  At  the  end  of  the  fifth 
biennium  (January,  1859),  fifty-eight  pupils  were  present  and  ten 
more  were  expected  to  arrive. 

In  1857,  the  Jacksonville  &  Carrollton  Railroad  obtained  and 
entered  upon,  for  its  own  use,  a  strip  of  ground  about  thirty  feet 
wide  and  nearly  1,000  feet  long  near  the  west  end  of  the  tract 
occupied  by  the  institution.  February  3d  of  the  same  year,  the 
trustees  put  on  record  the  following  declaration : 

"  The  Board  can  not  concede  permission  for  the  railroad  to  pass 
through  its  grounds,  and  the  President  is  appointed  to  attend  to  the 
interests  of  the  institution  in  this  case." 

The  controversy  growing  out  of  this  trouble  continued,  in  and 
out  of  the  courts,  until  1869;  when,  the  Board  of  Trustees  protest- 
ing, the  matter  was  settled  by  legislative  enactment,  the  railroad 
company  retaining  the  land  and  another  and  wider  strip  west  of  the 
strip  before  mentioned  and  paying  therefor  into  the  State  treasury 
the  sum  of  $5,700.  A  full  account  of  this  unfortunate  litigation  can 
be  found  in  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Public  Charities,  1876,  pp. 
130-132. 


17 

Some  building  was  done  during  the  year  1857-8.  The  barn 
was  enlarged  and  a  brick  smoke-house  built.  The  latter  is  still 
standing,  having  been  converted,  several  years  ago,  into  an  outside 
water-closet  connected  with  the  sewer. 

LEGISLATION. 

By  the  law  of  1859,  the  annual  appropriation  for  the  institution 
was  reduced  from  $14,000  per  annum  to  $12,000.  The  latter  sum 
was  the  amount  appropriated  for  the  annual  expenses  of  the  institu- 
tion from  this  date  until  1865. 


BOAKD  OF  TRUSTEES— 1860. 

MATTHEW  STACY,  Jacksonville,  President. 

S.  D.  LOCKWOOD,  Batavia,  D.  ROCKWELL,  Jacksonville, 

SAMUEL  LONG,  M.  D.,  JOHN  MAGOUN. 

DR.  JOSHUA  RHOADS,  Principal. 

In  June,  1860,  Dr.  Samuel  Long  was  instructed  to  procure  an 
organ  for  the  institution  to  cost  not  over  $1,600.  He  visited  St. 
Louis  and  purchased  of  Henry  Pilcher  an  organ  with  twenty-four 
stops.  This  instrument  was  pronounced  at  that  time  by  competent 
judges  to  be  one  of  the  best  in  the  State. 

June  19,  1861,  probably  on  account  of  restlessness  on  the  part 
of  the  older  pupils  and  a  seeming  lack  of  appreciation  of  the  priv- 
ileges offered  by  the  state,  the  Board  ordered:  "That  the  term  of 
pupils  be  limited  to  five  years  unless  for  special  reasons  to  be  re- 
ported to  the  Board." 

1861   TO  1865. 

During  the  seventh  and  eighth  biennial  periods,  but  little  oc- 
curred outside  the  usual  routine  of  earnest,  persistent,  and  cheerful 
effort  on  the  part  of  members  of  the  Board,  of  teachers,  and  of 
pupils. 

During  this  period,  James  Magoun  retired  from  the  Board; 
Dennis  Kockwell  removed  from  the  State,  and  Judge  Lockwood 
asked  to  be  relieved  from  further  duties.  The  places  thus  made 
vacant  were  supplied  by  Kobert  Hill  of  —  — ,  E.  B. 

Hawley  of  Springfield,  William  A.  Grimshaw  of  Pittsfield,  and 
William  Coffin  of  Batavia.  On  the  retirement  of  Judge  Lockwood 
the  Board  caused  the  following  tribute  to  be  spread  upon  the 
records : 


18 

"Ordered,  That  the  Board  have  learned  with  great  regret  of  the 
resignation  of  Judge  Lock  wood  on  account  of  his  advanced  age. 
The  Board  feel  that  they  have  lost  the  leading  spirit  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  institution  from  its  foundation,  and  have  a  high 
trust  that  they  and  their  successors  may  continue  to  be  guided  by 
the  same  spirit  which  always  guided  him." 

His  period  of  service  was  fourteen  and  one-half  years. 

In  October,  1861,  Prof.  John  Loomis  commenced  his  long  and 
valuable  service  as  a  teacher  of  the  blind.  During  the  first  few 
years  his  salary  was  $800  per  annum;  but  in  1865  it  was  raised  to 
$1,200;  in  1871,  to  $1,400  and  in  1878,  to  $1,500.  This  last  figure 
is  the  highest  salary  ever  received  by  any  one  employed  as  a  teacher 
in  the  Illinois  Institution  for  the  Blind.  Prof.  Loomis  was  connected 
with  the  Institution  until  1881,  a  period  of  twenty  years.  There  is 
evidence  that  the  pupils  became  very  strongly  attached  to  him,  and, 
although  the  methods  of  instruction  employed  might  not,  in  some 
particulars,  meet  the  approval  of  modern  teachers,  there  is  abundant 
proof  that  the  value  of  his  instruction  and  influence  can  not  be 
measured  by  the  standards  of  worth  that  are  usually  applied  to 
human  effort. 

In  1862  Miss  Alice  Khoads  began  work  as  a  teacher  in  the 
primary  department.  She  was  employed  uninterruptedly,  part  of 
the  time  in  the  literary  department  and  afterward  as  teacher  of 
music  and  leader  of  the  orchestra,  until  1874. 

In  the  summer  of  1862,  Oscar  Butts,  of  Adams  county,  a«  young 
man  who  had  left  school  without  permission  the  previous  year,  made 
a  written  complaint  to  the  Board  regarding  the  general  management 
of  the  Institution  and  charging  the  superintendent  with  inefficiency 
and  "  arbitrary  and  despotic  exercise  of  power."  A  special  meeting 
of  the  Board  was  called  which  continued  two  days  (June  25  and  26, 
1862),  the  members  patiently  listening  to  witnesses  introduced  at 
the  suggestion  of  Butts.  At  a  subsequent  meeting  the  following 
statement  was  put  on  record: 

"The  trustees  present  who  heard  the  testimony  against  and  for 
Dr.  Bhoads,  having  carefully  considered  the  subject,  have  unani- 
mously come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  charges  exhibited  against 
Dr.  Rhoads  have  not  been  sustained. 

"  Resolved  by  the  trustees,  that  we  affirm  the  decision  of  the 
Board  made  in  December,  1861,  that  the  Illinois  Institution  for  the 


19 

Blind  is  entitled  to  the  confidence   of   the   public  and  is  answering 
the  purpose  for  which  the  institution  was  established. 

"  Resolved,  That  hereafter  no  pupil  shall  be  returned  to  the 
school  for  more  than  five  years,  unless  the  trustees,  for  good  reasons 
shown  to  them,  shall  otherwise  order." 

On  the  16th  day  of  June,  1863,  the  Board  caused  the  following 
to  be  spread  upon  the  records,  and  copies  sent  to  the  newspapers  of 
Jacksonville,  Springfield,  Chicago,  and  elsewhere,  with  the  request 
that  it  be  published: 

"  Resolved,  That  we  have  witnessed  with  pleasure  and  very 
great  satisfaction,  the  exercises  of  the  institution  under  the  charge 
of  Dr.  Joshua  Rhoads  and  Mrs.  Rhoads  assisted  by  able  and  expe- 
rienced teachers,  in  the  respective  branches  of  study  in  this  institu- 
tion, and  express  our  great  satisfaction  at  the  proficiency  shown  by 
the  pupils  and  return  our  thanks  to  the  Principals  and  their  assist- 
ants for  their  able  management  of  the  institution  during  the  past 
year,  as  shown  by  the  progress  of  the  pupils. 

Signed.         MATT.  STACY, 
E.  B.  HAWLEY, 
WILLIAM  A.  GBIMSHAW. 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  1864,  Supt.  Rhoads  stated  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  This  institution  now  contains  sixty-eight  blind  persons  of 
good  moral  character,  kindly  in  their  deportment  to  their  teachers 
and  to  each  other.  About  one-half  of  the  number  were  either  born 
blind  or  lost  their  sight  in  infancy;  the  other  half  of  them  became 
blind  from  various  accidents  to  which  all  are  subject.  Thirty-two 
of  the  pupils  are  males  and  thirty-six  are  females. 


1865  TO  1869. 
BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES-1865. 

MATTHEW  STACY,  Jacksonville,  President, 

WILLIAM  A.  GBIMSHAW,  Pittsfleld,          E.  B.  HAWLEY,  Springfield, 
M.  SHAEFFER,  Salem,  H.  BUCK,  Decatur. 

DK.  JOSHUA  RHOADS,  Principal. 

LEGISLATION. 

The  annual  appropriation  for  ordinary  expense  was  raised  in 
1865  to  $20,000,  and  remained  at  that  figure  until  1869.  In  1867 
there  was  an  especial  appropriation  of  $1,000  per  annum  (1867  and 


20 

• 

1868)  "  to  pay  for  repairs  of  buildings  and  improvements."  This 
was  the  beginning  of  a  regular  appropriation  for  repairs  and  im- 
provements, the  amount  received  for  this  purpose  being  known  as 
the  E.  &  I.  fund. 

Near  the  beginning  of  this  period,  furnaces  were  introduced 
into  the  building  in  place  of  stoves  with  which  all  the  rooms  had 
been  heated  up  to  this  time. 

In  October,  1865,  Prof.  A.  E.  Wimmerstedt  was  employed  as  a 
teacher  of  music.  He  continued  to  serve  as  teacher  and  musical 
director  till  the  summer  of  1879 — a  period  of  fourteen  years. 

In  January,  1867,  the  trustees  reported  eighty  pupils  in  attend- 
ance and  "  no  accommodation  for  any  more."  It  was  a  period  of 
high  prices  and  the  Board  recommended  that  the  appropriation  for 
ordinary  expenses  be  increased  from  $20,000  to  $25,000  per  annum. 

In  1868  Miss  Fannie  Maginnis  commenced  a  long  period  of 
service  as  teacher  in  the  literary  department.  She  resigned  in 
1879,  on  account  of  the  illness  of  her  mother;  was  re-elected  in 
1881,  and  continued  in  the  work  until  1887. 


1869  AND  1870. 
LEGISLATION. 

In  1869  the  appropriation  for  ordinary  expense  was  increased  to 
$25,000  per  annum  and  $5,000  was  appropriated  for  repairs  and 
improvements.  An  act  entitled,  "An  Act  to  provide  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Public  Charities"  was 
approved  April  9,  1869.  Since  that  time  the  state  charitable  in- 
stitutions have  been  under  the  most  vigilant  supervision  of  that 
Board,  the  active  officer  of  which,  has  been  from  the  beginning  up 
to  the  present  time  (April  1,  1893),  their  Secratary,  Kev.  Fred  H. 
Wines. 

The  act  of  1869  further  provided  that  the  number  of  trustees 
for  each  of  the  state  charitable  institutions  should  be  three. 


BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES— 1869. 

MATTHEW  STAC  if,  Jacksonville,  President, 

E.  B.  HAWLEY,  Springfield,  WILLIAM  A.  GRIMSHAW,  Pittsfield. 

At  ten   o'clock  on  the    morning  of  April    20,  1869,  smoke  and 
flames  were  seen  issuing  from  various  parts  of  the  roof  of  the  main 


21 

building  of  the  Illinois  Institution  for  the  Blind.  The  following 
statement  from  the  Superintendent's  report  dated  November  30, 
1870,  gives  a  succinct  account  of  the  fire  and  of  the  rebuilding. 

"  The  citizens  of  Jacksonville  rushed  in  haste  to  attempt  the 
suppression  of  the  fire.  A  profuse  supply  of  water  was  at  hand 
— one  hundred  and  twenty  barrels  being  in  tanks  in  the  fifth  story 
of  the  building;  but  the  progress  of  the  fire  was  so  rapid  that 
nothing  availed  to  check  its  ravages.  In  a  few  short  hours,  the 
comfortable  home  for  the  blind  had  become  a  mass  of  smould- 
ering ruins. 

"  The  fire  is  supposed  to  have  originated  from  a  defective  smoke 
flue  in  the  attic  of  the  building,  and  to  have  been  making  progress 
there  for  four  hours  before  it  was  discovered.  When  first  dis- 
covered, the  flames  were  breaking  through  the  roof,  and  the  attic 
could  not  be  entered  from  the  scuttle  in  the  fifth  story  ceiling  on 
account  of  the  heat  and  flame. 

"  The  citizens  succeeded  in  rescuing  all  the  inmates,  and  in  re- 
moving their  clothing.  The  books,  papers,  and  much  of  the 
furniture,  including  seven  pianos,  were  also  removed  in  safety. 
The  citizens  of  Jacksonville  opened  their  houses  to  our  pupils,  and, 
in  a  few  hours,  they  were  all  installed  in  comfortable  homes,  and 
well  provided  for  until  we  could  arrange  to  resume  the  charge  of 
them. 

"  Mrs.  Eliza  Ayers,  without  solicitation,  at  once  proffered  to  us 
her  property,  known  as  the  Berean  College,  and  in  a  week  we  had 
our  pupils  comfortably  domiciled  in  it,  and  in  our  workshops. 
The  school  was  at  once  resumed, and  our  pupils  re-commenced  their 
studies  with  accustomed  cheerf  ulness.  The  school  was  continued  in 
session  until  the  usual  time  for  vacation,  June  1,  when  the  pupils 
returned  to  their  homes. 

"  The  buildings  being  insured  for  $20,000,  and  some  other  funds 
being  applicable  to  the  purpose  of  rebuilding,  it  was  determined 
to  allow  no  unnecessary  delay  in  providing  a  new  building.  Suit- 
able designs  were  procured,  and  work  was  begun  on  a  new  building 
on  the  site  of  the  old  edifice.  This  building  was  pushed  forward 
with  such  industry  and  energy  that  it  was  finished  and  occupied  by 
the  officers  and  pupils  on  January  26,  1870. 

"  The  building  is  seventy-two  feet  by  seventy-two  feet,  and  is 
three  stories  high.  It  is  placed  on  the  site  of  the  former  building, 
and  is  planned  so  as  to  be  the  "west  wing"  to  a  future  main 


22 

building  and  east  wing,  to  be  erected  when  the  Legislature  shall 
appropriate  funds  for  its  erection ." 

"  The  cost  of  the  new  building  was  $34,069.39.  Of  this  amount 
$20,000  was  received  from  the  insurance  companies,  and,  as  the 
school  was  necessarily  closed,  a  portion  of  the  amount  appropriated 
for  repairs  and  improvements,  and  current  expenses  became  avail- 
able for  building." 

It  may  be  here  stated  that  the  Board  of  Trustees  in  beginning 
to  rebuild  almost  before  the  foundation  stones  of  the  old  building 
were  cold,  and  in  applying,  not  alone  the  insurance  money,  but  funds 
appropriated  for  ordinary  expense,  to  this  purpose,  pushing  the 
structure  to  completion  in  the  space  of  nine  months,  acted  without 
the  sanction  of  law.  They  however  did  this  under  the  advice  of 
Governor  Palmer,  and  of  individual  members  of  the  Legislature  of 
1869.  The  responsibility  was  upon  themselves;  but  so  fully  did 
their  promptness  of  decision  and  energy  of  action  in  the  interest  of 
the  unfortunate  class  placed  in  their  care,  commend  themselves  to 
the  general  public,  that  no  one  has  been  found  to  make  complaint, 
either  formal  or  otherwise,  of  their  assumption  of  authority;  though 
it  has  sometimes  been  said  in  an  undertone  that  the  desire  to  retain 
the  institution  at  Jacksonville  had  something  to  do  with  their  very 
commendable  activity  in  providing  the  new  building  for  the  School 
for  the  Blind. 

The  new  building  contained  only  about  half  as  much  available 
space  as  the  former  one ;  yet  the  school  was  continued  in  all  its 
departments.  In  the  autumn  of  1870,  there  were  seventy-four 
pupils  present,  and  the  Superintendent  was  obliged  to  refuse  admis- 
sion to  many  others. 

1871   TO  1874. 
BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES. 

MATTHEW  STACY,  Jacksonville,  President, 

E.  B.  HAWLEY,  Springfield,      WILLIAM  A.  GRIMSHAW,  Pittsfleld. 
DR.  JOSHUA  RHOADS,  Principal. 

In  1871  the  annual  appropriation  for  the  ordinary  expenses  of 
the  institution  was  reduced  from  $25,000  to  $20,00;  and  in  1873, 
from  $20,000  to  $17,500. 

On  November  20,  1871,  Miss  Clara  E.  Greeuleaf  was  employed 
as  assistant  matron  and,  in  December,  1872,  was  promoted  to  the 
position  of  primary  teacher.  She  resigned  in  the  summer  of  1878, 


23 

on  account  of  poor  health,  after  having  been  connected  with  the  in- 
stitution six  years  and  five  months. 

The  building  erected  in  1869,  was  designed  as  a  west  wing  of 
a  main  building  yet  to  be  erected.  Before  the  work  was  begun  on 
this  "  wing,"  Messrs.  Dilger  and  Jungerfeldt,  architects,  of  Spring- 
field, 111.,  were  employed  to  prepare  the  elevation  and  ground  plans 
for  a  structure  consisting  of  a  main  building  and  two  wings.  In 
1872^  the  Board  made  a  very  earnest  appeal  to  the  Legislature  then 
in  session,  for  an  appropriation  sufficient  for  the  erection  of  the 
central  portion  of  the  proposed  structure.  On  May  3,  1873,  a  bill  re- 
ceived the  Governor's  signature,  which  provided  for  an  appropria- 
tion of  $75,000  for  this  purpose. 

Within  a  month  from  that  time  the  board  advertised  for  bids 
for  the  construction  of  the  "  main  building."  On  July  10  thirteen 
bids  had  been  received.  That  o£  Loar  &  Bruce  being  the  lowest, 
the  contract  was  awarded  to  them,  the  sum  named  being  $58,560. 
The  work  of  building  was  immediately  commenced  and  with  the 
usual  delays,  changes  in  contract,  and  some  additions  thereto,  com- 
mendable progress  was  made.  It  was  apparent  in  the  spring  of 
1874,  that  the  building  would  be  ready  for  occupancy  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  next  term. 

In  the  meantime  Hon.  John  L.  Beveridge  became  governor  of 
Illinois. 

A  new  Board  of  Trustees  was  appointed,  and  at  the  last  meeting 
of  the  retiring  Board  (June  2,  1874),  they  caused  the  following 
tribute  to  the  officers  and  teachers  of  the  institution  to  be  spread 
upon  the  records: 

Resolved,  That  at  this  our  last  meeting,  as  trustees  of  this  institution,  we  part 
with  the  officers  and  employes  thereof,  yet  feeling  in  them  the  same  confidence 
which  their  zeal,  integrity,  and  devotion  to  duty  has  caused  us  to  repose  in  them 
in  the  past. 

Resolved,  That  we  feel  our  hearts  oppressed,  in  consequence  of  the  painful 
illness  of  our  long-time  friend  and  faithful,  upright,  public  servant,  Dr.  Joshua 
Rhoads,  preventing  him  from  being  present  with  us,  it  being  the  first  time  in  our 
official  connection  with  this  institution;  and  we  now  give  to  him  our  most  cheering 
congratulations,  that  to  him  is  the  consciousness  of  a  life  spent  in  public  service 
for  twenty-four  years  in  the  education  and  training  of  the  blind  of  Illinois,  dis~ 
charging  with  uprightness  and  with  a  genial  heart  and  true  manhood  his  impor- 
tant duties  as  Superintendent  of  this  institution;  and  we,  as  trustees,  sympathize 
most  cordially  with  him  and  his  amiable  family  in  his  present  affliction;  and  we 
return  to  him  our  sincere  thanks  for  his  incessant  labors  and  for  his  pleasant  inter- 
course with  us  in  our  official  capacity,  in  which  his  family  so  considerately  co-op- 
erated. 

Resolved,  That  we  especially  present  to  Mrs.  Rhoads,  as  Matron,  our  most 


24 

hearty  thanks  for  her  truly  motherly  sympathy  and  charge  over  the  numerous 
children  who  have  passed  under  her  kind,  considerate  and  useful  training,  during 
the  long  period  she  has  presided  over  this  institution,  being  from  its  foundation. 

Resolved,  That  Miss  Alice  Rhoads,  has  our  sincere  thanks  for  her  exceedingly 
happy  and  efficient  effort  in  training  those  of  the  pupils  who  have  been  under  her 
charge,  in  literature  and  in  music,  and  we  feel  it  to  be  our  duty  to  say  that  she 
can  not  be  surpassed  in  her  vocation  as  a  teacher  of  youth. 

Resolved,  That  Mr.  John  Loomis,  as  senior  teacher,  has  always  merited  and 
received  our  confidence,  as  he  now  fully  possesses  the  same,  and  we  commend  him 
as  unsurpassed  if  not  unequaled  in  capacity  as  a  teacher  in  the  position  he  has 
occupied. 

Resolved,  That  Miss  Frances  Maginnis  and  Miss  Clara  E.  Greenleaf,  as 
t  eachers  in  this  institution,  has  each  discharged  her  duty  in  a  highly  acceptable 
manner  and  to  our  entire  satisfaction. 

Resolved,  That  we,  with  pleasure,  express  our  satisfaction  in  the  progress  of 
*the  pupils  of  the  institution  during  the  past  term,  and  commend  them  to  the  public 
as  worthy  objects  of  public  care,  deserving  the  same  by  good  conduct  and  entitled 
hereto  as  children  of  the  great  State  of  Illinois. 

On  June  4,  18.74,  the  new  Board  consisting  of  John  Mathers, 
of  Jacksonville;  John  H.  Wood,  of  Virginia,  and  John  H.  Lewis,  of 
Galesburg,  met  and  organized.  Mr.  Mathers  was  chosen  President, 
and  Bazzil  Davenport  Secretary  pro  tern.  The  resignations  of  Dr. 
Joshua  Rhoads  and  Mrs.  Rosanna  J.  Rhoads,  to  take  effect  August 
1,  1874,  were  read  and  accepted. 

On  motion,  they  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  superintendent. 
Several  names  were  placed  in  nomination  and  on  the  first  ballot  Dr. 
F.  W.  Phillips  received  one  vote ;  Prof.  John  Loomis,  one,  and  Rev. 
W.  H.  De  Motte,  one.  On  the  second  ballot,  Dr.  Phillips  received 
two  votes  and  Rev.  De  Motte,  one.  Dr.  Phillips  was  declared 
elected.  Mrs.  Lucy  J.  Phillips  was  chosen  matron.  Prof.  Loomis, 
Miss  Alice  S.  Rhoads,  Miss  Fannie  Maginnis  and  Prof.  A.  E. 
Wimmerstedt  were  re-elected  as  teachers.  At  a  subsequent  meet- 
ing the  resignation  of  Miss  Rhoads  was  read  and  accepted. 

At  the  close  of  Dr.  Rhoads'  term  as  Superintendent,  blind 
persons  to  the  number  of  443,  had  availed  themselves  of  the  privi- 
leges of  the  institution  and  seventy-two  were  present. 


1874  TO  1876. 
BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES. 

JOHN  MATHERS,  Jacksonville,  President, 

JOHN  H.  WOOD,  Virginia,        JOHN  H.  LEWIS,  Galesburg. 

DR.  F.  W.  PHILLIPS,  Superintendent. 

With  very  few  changes  in  the  corps  of  teachers  and  officers, 
Dr.  Phillips  commenced  his  long  period  (fourteen  years)  of  service 


27 

as  Superintendent  of  the  Institution  for  the  Blind.  Capt.  William 
A.  Kirby  was  appointed  foreman  of  the  workshop,  and  Mrs.  A.  C. 
Kirby  teacher  in  the  literary  department,  while  Prof.  T.  D.  Nut- 
ting and  Miss  Fannie  De  Motte  were  employed  as  teachers  of 
music. 

Immediately  after  the  completion  of  the  new  building,  circulars 
giving  ^notice  of  the  increased  capacity  of  the  institution,  and 
requesting  friends  of  the  blind  to  see  that  those  in  need  of  the  edu- 
cational privileges  thus  furnished  by  the  state  were  induced  to 
avail  themselves  of  these  advantages,  were  printed  and  sent  into 
every  county.  As  a  result  of  this  effort,  the  number  of  pupils  was 
increased  from  seventy-two  to  one  hundred  and  seven,  the  latter 
being  the  number  in  attendance  December  1,  1874. 

In  1875  B,  B.  Gray  was  appointed  foreman  of  the  work  depart- 
ment in  place  of  Captain  Kirby,  resigned.  Mr.  Gray  had  been  em- 
ployed as  a  carpenter  and  builder  at  the  institution  during  the  super- 
intendency  of  Dr.  Rhoads.  He  is  yet  (1893)  an  efficient  officer  of 
the  institution,  having  served  continuously  for  eighteen  years. 

LEGISLATION. 

By  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  in  force  June  1,  1874,  $5,000, 
which  had  before  been  appropriated  and  had  not  been  drawn  from 
the  State  treasury,  was  made  available  for  building  purposes,  and 
Section  2  of  the  same  Act  appropriated  $10,000  for  furnishing. 
Adding  this  $5,000  to  the  amount  appropriated  by  the  Act  of  May 
3,  1873,  made  a  total  of  $80,000.  The  new  trustees  found  that 
"  contracts  had  been  entered  into  and  improvements  made  amount- 
ing in  the  aggregate  to  $82,332.34,  being  $2,332.34  in  excess  of  the 
appropriations  made."  Disclaiming  any  responsibility  for  this,  they 
declared  the  claims  to  be  just  and  asked  the  Legislature  to  make 
appropriation  for  the  payment  of  the  same  with  ten  per  cent,  inter- 
est from  the  first  day  of  August,  1874.  Two  years  later  this  request 
was  renewed,  and  the  General  Assembly  of  1877  appropriated  a  sum 
sufficient  to  pay  these  claims  with  interest  at  the  rate  named. 

The  Board  further  declared  that  although  the  former  board  had, 
"by  some  mistake  or  oversight,  made  improvements  in  excess  of 
the  appropriation,"  additional  improvements  and  repairs  were  needed 
which  demanded  the  consideration  of  the  Legislature. 

The  "center  building"  was  heated  by  steam,  the  boilers  for  this 
purpose  being  located  in  the  rear  part  of  the  basement.  The  wing 
was  imperfectly  heated  by  four  furnaces.  The  Board  reported  that 


28 

convenience,  comfort,  safety  and  economy  alike  demanded  that 
there  should  be  constructed  a  building  for  the  reception  of  the 
boilers,  the  same  to  be  connected  by  a  tunnel  with  the  main  struct- 
ure, and  that  the  wing  should  be  equipped  with  steam-heating 
apparatus.  In  response  to  their  request  for  $8,000,  the  Legislature 
appropriated  $5,000  for  building  a  boiler-house,  stack  and  tunnel, 
and  supplying  the  needed  pipes  and  coils  for  the  wing. 

The  Board  deeming  this  amount  insufficient,  it  appears  that  they 
inaugurated  the  custom  of  regarding  the  amounts  received  from 
counties  and  individuals  for  clothing,  as  well  as  the  amounts  of 
sales  of  live  stock  and  articles  manufactured  in  the  shops  and  sew- 
ing-room, as  a  "  contingent  fund  "  which  they  applied  wherever  it 
might  seem  to  them  desirable.  (This  custom  was  continued  until 
July  1,  1881;  the  sum  of  the  orders  paid  from  this  fund  sometimes 
being  more  than  $1,500  per  annum.  Since  that  time  the  receipts 
for  clothing  and  sales  of  stock,  etc.,  are  returned  to  the  ordinary 
expense  fund  from  which  the  amounts  paid  for  clothing,  for  feed, 
for  live  stock  and  for  material  to  be  manufactured,  are  always 
drawn. ) 

In  explanation  of  this  the  Board  in  their  biennial  report,  dated 
October  1,  1876,  make  the  following  statement: 

"We  asked   the  Legislature   for  $8,000  to  build  an  engine  and 

O  f       *  O 

boiler-house,  and  to  heat  the  wing  with  steam,  and  received  $5,000. 
The  building  which  we  were  able  to  erect  after  steam-heating  had 
been  paid  for,  is  not  such  as  we  desire,  but  will  answer  our  purpose 
for  years.  We  could  not  have  built  as  we  did,  and  when  we  did, 
had  we  not  been  able  to  add  our  sales  and  receipts  to  the  amount 
the  state  gave  us.  We  did  this  when  we  wanted  our  sales  and 
receipts  for  another  purpose,  because  the  amount  given  us  was  not 
sufficient  to  build,  and  the  safety  and  health  of  the  pupils  and 
security  of  the  buildings,  required  that  the  boilers  should  be 
removed." 

"The  entire  building  is  now  uniformly  and  comfortably  heated, 
and  the  tire  removed  from  it,  except  in  the  kitchen." 

The  ordinary  expenses  for  the  year  1874  were  several  thousand 
dollars  more  than  the  appropriation,  and  the  Legislature,  in  the 
spring  of  1875,  appropriated  $5,000  "to  defray  the  increased 
ordinary  expense  of  the  Institution  for  the  Blind,"  and  provided 
that  the  act  should  "  take  effect  and  be  in  force  on  and  after  its 
passage." 


29 

In  the  Superintendent's  report  for  the  same  year  we  find  the 
following  very  courteous  tribute  to  Dr.  Bhoads: 

Since  my  last  report  to  you,  my  predecessor,  Dr.  Joshua  Rhoads,  has  died. 
His  health,  feeble  at  the  time  of  his  resignation,  continued  to  fail  until  February 
1,  1876,  when  death  relieved  him  of  his  sufferings.  A  graduate  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania University  of  Medicine,  he  was  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  principal  of  the  Pennsylvania  Institution 
for  the  Blind  for  four  years.  In  1850  he  was  elected  principal  of  this  institution, 
which  position  he  occupied  for  twenty-four  years.  Possessed  of  a  good  mind, 
which  was  well  cultivated,  he  was  qualified,  both  by  nature  and  habit,  for  the  work 
to  which  he  gave  so  much  of  his  life.  Methodical,  earnest,  and  in  love  with  his 
work,  the  institution  was  well  conducted  and  successful  under  his  administration. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  had  entered  upon  his  seventieth  year. 

1876  TO  1880. 

The  appropriation  for  ordinary  expense  for  the  biennium  be- 
ginning July,  1875,  was  $25,000  per  annum,  with  $1,000  per  annum, 
for  repairs  and  improvements;  for  the  biennium  beginning  July, 
1877,  the  appropriation  for  ordinary  expense  was  $28,000  per  an- 
num, and  the  amount  for  repairs  and  improvements,  $1,250  per 
annum.  Early  in  1877,  Governor  Cullom  appointed  a  new  Board 
of  Trustees  for  the  Institution  for  the  Blind,  and  on  June  4  the 
appointees  met  and  organized. 


BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES-1877. 
A.  C.  WADSWORTH,  Jacksonville,  President. 
N.  W.  BRANSON,  Petersburg,       A.  G.  BURR,  Carrollton. 
DR.  F.  W.  PHILLIPS,  Superintendent. 

For  the  term  1876-77  Dr.  Phillips  says  in  his  report  to  the 
trustees  "ninety-five  permits  have  been  sent  out  [to  pupils],  di- 
vided as  follows:  seventy-six  returned,  three  re-admitted,  and  six- 
teen new  pupils.  An  addition  of  $3,000  to  the  appropriation  made 
for  ordinary  expense  by  the  last  Legislature,  would  enable  me  to 
admit  twenty-five  more  pupils.  I  have  on  hand  from  which  to 
select  that  number,  eighty-nine  applications.  Four  of  these  appli- 
cants are  too  old,  nine  are  too  young,  and  one  is  from  another 
state.  The  remaining  seventy-five  are  proper  subjects  for  our  care 
and  instruction,  but  we  can  not  now  receive  them." 

Mrs.  Marion  P.  Wimmerstedt  was  employed  for  half  her  time 
for  one  year,  as  music  teacher,  her  term  of  service  beginning  Octo- 
ber, 1876. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  next  term  (1877-78)  Miss  Lizzie  B. 


30 

Simpson  was  employed  as  a  teacher  in  the  literary  department,  and 
Miss  Hattie  Hobbs  as  a  music  teacher  in  place  of  Mrs.  Wimmer- 
stedt.  Miss  Simpson  retained  her  position  until  her  resignation 
was  tendered  and  accepted  July,  1885. 

Miss  Alice  Dickey  was  employed  in  place  of  Miss  Greenleaf  re- 
signed. Mrs.  Alice  Dickey  Harsha  resigned  in  the  summer  of  1884. 

In  April,  1879,  Miss  Harriet  B.  Heed  was  employed  as  teacher 
in  the  junior  division  in  place  of  Miss  Maginnis;  Prof.  H.  Breth- 
erick,  in  place  of  Prof.  Wimmerstedt  as  musical  director.  Miss 
Reed's  term  of  service  continued  until  January,  1886;  Prof.  Breth- 
erick's,  until  the  summer  of  1883. 

NUMBEE  OF  PUPILS  ENROLLED. 

Term  of  1876-77 96      Term  of  1877-78 123 

Term  of  1878-79 133      Term  of  1879-80 142 

In  response  to  the  request  of  the  trustees,  the  Legislature  of 
1879  made  appropriations  in  addition  to  the  usual  amount  for  cur- 
rent expenses,  as  follows: 

For  new  fronts  to,  and  for  resetting  boilers f  784  00 

For  stand-pipe,  hose  and  connections 850  00 

For  dining-room  and  kitchen 2,400  00 

With  these  funds  the  necessary  work  was  done  in  the  boiler- 
house,  and  a  large  water  tank  was  placed  in  the  attic  of  the  wing 
and  the  necessary  connections  made  to  carry  water  to  any  part  of 
the  building.  A  kitchen  was  built  and  a  dining-room  provided 
that  would  accommodate  one  hundred  and  fifty  pupils> 


1880  TO  1884. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  period,  the  Board  of  Trustees  con- 
sisted of  the  persons  appointed  by  Governor  Cullom  in  1877, 
namely:  Hon.  A.  C.  Wadsworth,  Judge  Branson,  and  Judge  Burr; 
but  on  the  death  of  Judge  Burr,  June  10,  1882,  Dr.  J.  M.  Davis, 
of  Carrollton,  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  The  following 
tribute  to  Judge  Burr  was  prepared  by  his  colleagues,  and  the 
same  was  published  and  spread  upon  the  records: 

IN    MEMORIAM. 

Hon.  Albert  Gallatiu  Burr,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Illinois 
Institution  for  the  Education  of  the  Blind,  died  at  his  residence  in  Carrollton,  111., 
June  10, 1882. 

We  had  known  Judge  Burr  for  years,  and  to  know  him  long  and  well  was  but 
to  know  him  with  increasing  esteem  and  admiration. 


.    31 

As  a  jurist,  his  integrity,  his  manliness,  and  his  legal  attainments  commanded 
confidence  and  respect,  and  his  death  called  forth  universal  grief  in  the  judicial 
district  over  which  he  presided. 

Our  association  with  him  as  trustee  of  the  Institution  for  the  Blind,  which 
began  June  4,  1877,  and  closed  when  his  life  ended,  was  characterized  by  unity  of 
thought  and  action.  A\re  ever  found  him  attentive  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  inter- 
ested in  the  affairs  of  the  institution,  and  anxious  for  its  welfare. 

In  our  intimate  acquaintance  with  him,  we  found  him  a  Christian  gentleman, 
easy  of  access,  pleasant  in  social  intercourse,  affable  in  his  demeanor,  cheerful  in 
mind,  though  at  times  a  great  sufferer,  and  always  hopeful  of  the  future. 

(Signed)  A.  0.  WADSWOKTH, 

N .  W.  BRANSON. 

LEGISLATION. 

The  appropriations  for  current  expenses  were  as  follows: 

1879-80,  Ordinary  expense,  $21,000;  repairs  and  improve- 
ments  $1,000  00 

1880-81,  Ordinary  expense,  $25,000;  repairs  and  improve- 
ments  $1,000  00 

1881-82,  Ordinary  expense,  $22,000;  repairs  and  improve- 
ments   $1,500  00 

1882-83,  Ordinary  expense,  $25,000;  repairs  and  improve- 
ments  , $1,500  00 

In  addition  to  the  usual  appropriations,  the  Legislature  of  1881 
made  the  following  special  appropriations: 

For  building  east  wing $33,000  00 

For  school  apparatus  and  musical  instruments 2,500  00 

For  building  barn,  coal-house  and  shop 12,000  00 

For  engine  and  laundry  machinery 1,440  00 

The  Legislature  of  1883  appropriated  as  follows: 

For  fence  on  east,  north,  and  west  side  of  grounds $1,200  00 

For  purchasing  twenty -two  acres  of  pasture  land 2,500  00 

For  steam  mangle 550  00 

With  the  funds  thus  provided,  the  east  wing,  containing  twenty- 
eight  rooms,  the  inside  work  being  of  yellow  pine  finished  in  oil  and 
the  openings  between  the  wings  and  center  building  protected  by  iron 
fire-doors,  was  completed  in  time  for  the  opening  of  the  term  of 
1882-83. 

A  brick  workshop  two  stories  high  and  containing  eight  rooms, 
was  built,  it  being  located  a  little  northeast  of  the  east  wing  of  the 
main  building.  A  brick  barn  was  built  a  few  rods  in  the  rear  of  the 
boiler-house,  and  between  the  boiler-house  and  the  barn,  was  erected 
a  substantial  coal-house.  When  these  improvements  had  been  made 
and  settlements  had  been  made  with  the  contractors,  there  remained 
in  the  treasury,  of  the  $12,000  appropriated,  $1.08. 

Twenty-two  acres  of  most  excellent  pasture  land,   about  half  a 


32 

mile  northeast  of  the  buildings,  was  purchased,  and  this  continues 
to  furnish  ample  summer  feed  for  the  eighteen  to  twenty  cows 
necessary  to  supply  milk  for  the  inmates  of  the  institution. 

Half  a  mile  of  substantial  fence  was  built  which  is  yet  standing, 
and  needs  but  little  repair.  The  drain  was  provided  and  the  neces- 
sary laundry  machinery  purchased. 

On  June  9,  1881,  Miss  Susan  Draper  was  elected  teacher  of 
music  (piano),  which  position  she  has  filled  acceptably  since  that 
date. 

October  11,  1882,  Miss  A.  L.  Nichols  (blind)  was  employed  as 
a  teacher  in  the  primary  division.  She  resigned  in  1885. 

October  10,  1883,  Miss  Annie  Martin  was  employed  in  the  liter- 
ary department.  She  resigned  in  1887.  On  the  same  date,  Miss 
Kate  Smith  was  employed  half  her  time  as  teacher  of  vocal  music, 
and  Mrs.  Annie  Smith  two-fifths  of  her  time  as  teacher  of  organ. 
Mrs.  Kate  Smith  Dumrner  and  Mrs.  Annie  Smith  resigned  in 
1885. 

The  number  of  pupils  enrolled  was  as  follows: 

Term  of  1880-81. . .  .120  pupils.        Term  of  1881-82. .  .128  pupils. 
Term  of  1882-83 ....  157  pupils.        Term  of  1883-84. . .  168  pupils. 


1884  TO  1888. 
TRUSTEES. 

A.  C.  WADSWORTH,  Jacksonville,  President, . 

N.  W.  BKANSOX,  Petersburg,  J.  M.  DAVIS,  Carrollton. 

DR.  F.  W.  PHILIPS,  Superintendent. 

On  the  death  of  Dr.  Davis,  in  1885,  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Funk  of 
Bloomingtoii  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  In  the  report  to 
Governor  Oglesby.  dated  September  30,  1886, we  find  the  following: 

"  We  have  lost  from  our  Board,  by  death,  Dr.  J.  M.  Davis  of  Carrollton,  a  man 
worthy  and  well  qualified  for  the  position  he  occupied,  who  was  interested  in  the 
work  of  educating  the  blind  and  whose  loss  we  regret." 

LEGISLATION. 

The  appropriations  for  current  expenses  were  as  follows: 

1883-84,  Ordinary  expense,  $32,000;  repairs  and  improve- 
ments   $1,000  00 

1884-85,  Ordinary  expense,  $32,000;  repairs  and  improve- 
ments   $1,500  00 

1885-86,  Ordinary  expense,  f  30,OJO;  repairs  and  improve- 
ments   $1,500  00 

1886-87,  Ordinary  expense,  $30,000;  repairs  and  improve- 
ments   $1,500  00 


33 

In  addition  to  the  usual  appropriations,  the  Legislature  of  1885 
made  the  following  special  appropriations: 

For  the  construction  of  a  refrigerator  and  storehouse $4,000  00 

For  the  extension  of  the  sewer 500  00 

For  the  purchase  of  a  pipe-organ 3,000  00 

With  the  funds  thus  provided,  the  sewer  was  extended  and 
a  pipe-organ,  a  most  excellent  instrument  built  by  Hook  & 
Hastings  of  Boston,  Mass.,  was  put  in  place  and  used  for  the  first 
time  December  25,  1885.  The  amount  appropriated  fora  storehouse 
and  refrigerator  was  unsatisfactory  to  the  trustees  and  to  the  Super- 
intendent. Nevertheless  they  proceeded  to  build  as  best  they 
could,  the  building  erected  being  of  brick,  twenty-two  feet  by  sixty 
feet  and  two  stories  in  height  and  situated  northwest  of  the  main 
building. 

TEACHEES. 

On  the  resignation  of  Mrs.  Alice  Dickey  Harsha  in  the  summer 
of  1884,  Mrs.  Mary  Burr,  widow  of  Judge  A.  G.  Burr,  was  em- 
ployed to  fill  the  vacancy.  Of  this  appointment  Dr.  Phillips  says  in 
his  report  to  the  trustees:  "  It  affords  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to 
thus  remember  the  kindness  of  Judge  Burr  in  his  intercourse  with 
those  connected  with  the  Institution,  and  his  faithfulness  to  his 
duties  as  a  trustee."  Mrs.  Burr  continued  her  work  as  a  teacher 
until  the  summer  of  1891. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  term  1885-86  four  new  teachers  were  em- 
ployed: Prof.  Blanpied  who  was  musical  director  for  one  year  and 
Mr.  Ira  William  Davenport  who  was  employed  in  the  literary  de- 
partment until  1887 ;  George  R.  Parker,  a  former  pupil  of  the  Insti- 
tution and  Mrs.  Mollie  Phillips.  Mrs.  Phillips  resigned  in  1887. 
Mr.  Parker  is  still  numbered  among  the  teachers  in  the  literary  de- 
partment. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  term  1886-87,  Miss  Anne  Wakely  was 
employed  as  teacher  in  the  literary  department  and  Miss  Emma 
Des  Plaines,  a  former  pupil,  as  a  teacher  of  music.  Prof.  Wallace 
P.  Day  was  employed  as  musical  director.  Miss  Wakely  taught  one 
year  and  Miss  Des  Plaines  four  years.  [Prof.  Day,  who  had 
previously  had  several  years  experience  as  teacher  of  the  blind  in 
Canada  still  remains  at  the  head  of  the  musical  department. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  term  1887-88,  Mrs.  Eliza  Caldwell,  Miss 
Mattie  Bevans,  and  Miss  Lydia  Hamilton  took  their  places  as  teach- 
ers. Mrs.  Caldwell  taught  the  girls  of  the  intermediate  division 


34 

till  the  summer  of  1891.  Miss  Hamilton  had  charge  of  the  senior 
division  for  five  years.  She  resigned  on  account  of  serious  ill 
health.  Miss  Bevans  taught  the  intermediate  class  of  boys  until 
1890.  During  the  term  of  1890-91,  she  taught  mathematics  to  the 
pupils  of  all  grades  between  the  kindergarten  and  the  high  school, 
and  since  that  time  has  taught  geography  to  the  same  classes. 

NUMBER  OF  PUPILS  ENROLLED. 

Term  of  1884-85 150         Term  of  1885-86 168 

Term  of  1886-87 186         Term  of  1887-88 171 

DEATH  OF  SUPT.  F.   W.  PHILLIPS. 

On  January  17,  1888,  after  a  painful  illness,  Dr.  F.  W.  Phillips 
passed  to  his  reward.  There  was  a  special  session  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  called  for  January  19,  to  take  appropriate  action  concern- 
ing the  death  of  the  Superintendent.  Mr.  W.  S.  Phillips  was 
elected  Secretary  of  the  Board  and  the  following  tribute  proposed 
and  offered  for  adoption  by  Hon.  N.  W.  Branson  was  spread  upon 
the  records: 

"  The  Board  of  Trustees  convened  in  special  session  immediately 
after  the  sad  but  sacred  duties  pertaining  to  the  final  interment 
of  the  late  Superintendent  of  this  institution,  feeling  acutely 
the  magnitude  of  our  loss  would  pay  our  heart-felt  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  the  deceased." 

"  Whatever  honors  can  be  paid  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  F.  W. 
Phillips  will  be  worthily  bestowed.  No  tribute  which  affection 
may  dictate  can  be  worded  in  language  too  strong.  The  late  super- 
intendent fully  appreciated  the  responsibility  resting  upon  him  in 
ministering  to  the  mental,  moral,  and  physical  welfare  of  the  pupils 
under  his  charge;  and  he  gave  to  the  discharge  of  his  duties 
his  best  energies.  His  heart  was  filled  with  sympathy  for 
those  whose  misfortunes  made  them  the  worthy  recipients  of  this 
noble  public  charity.  With  love  for  this  special  work  and  with  a 
mind  fully  equipped  by  nature  for  the  discharge  of  high  pub- 
lic trusts,  he  gave  himself  up,  with  entire  singleness  of  purpose,  to 
the  performance  of  duty." 

"In  the  management  of  pupils,  he  was  quick  to  foresee  and  prompt 
to  provide  for  their  wants.  Courteous,  kind,  and  affectionate,  in 
his  intercourse  with  them,  he  yet  could  be  firm  as  the  occasion 
might  demand,  and  was  always  just.  His  relations  with  all 
who  were  in  any  way  associated  with  him  were  of  the  most  kindly 
character." 

"As  an  executive  officer  he  displayed  rare  ability.  The  institu- 
tion grew  and  expanded  under  his  wise  and  prudent  administration, 
and  attained  the  measure  of  usefulness  which  its  founders  and 


35 

prompters  had  in  view.  The  public  funds  were  applied  exclusively 
to  their  proper  uses  as  contemplated  by  the  law  and  were  expended 
with  economy,  with  sagacity,  and  with  unquestionable  integrity. 
Under  his  thoughtful  and  efficient  management,  the  entire  institu- 
tion in  all  its  branches  and  departments  worked  like  a  perfect  piece 
of  mechanism  without  jar  or  friction." 

"  Our  Superintendent  was  a  man  of  principle  and  of  purity ;  stain- 
less in  character  and  spotless  in  reputation ;  remarkable  for  the  great 
variety  and  extent  of  his  attainments;  and  he  exemplified  in  himself 
the  highest  attributes  of  domestic  life." 

«  "Although  his  life  was  lengthened  out  to  three-score  years  yet  the 
death  of  an  upright  and  useful  man,  however  long  deferred,  comes 
always  too  soon,  but  we  are  not  without  consolation  in  the  recollec- 
tion of  his  many  virtues  and  in  the  reflection  that  it  was  our  happy 
privilege  to  have  been  so  intimately  associated  with  him  in  his 
labor  of  love;  and  we,  the  members  of  this  Board,  counting  ourselves 
as  not  the  least  affectionate  among  the  many  friends  of  our  departed 
brother,  will  cherish  with  unfailing  tenderness  and  love,  his  precious 
memory  and  the  priceless  inheritance  of  his  virtues." 

(Signed)      A.  C.  WADSWORTH, 
B.  F.  FUNK, 
N.  "W.  BRANSON. 

At  the  time  of  Dr.  Phillips'  death  blind  persons  to  the  number 
of  nine  hundred  and  three  had  availed  themselves  of  the  privileges 
of  the  institution  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  were  present. 


1888  TO  1890. 
BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES,  1888.  ' 

A.  C.  WADSWORTH,  Jacksonville,  President, 

N.  W.  BRANSON,  Petersburg,       B.  F.  FUNK,  Blooralngton. 

W.  S.  PHILLIPS,  Superintendent. 

On  May  27,  1888,  Mr.  W.  S.  Phillips,  son  of  Dr.  F.  W.  Phillips 
was  elected  superintendent.  Fourteen  years  of  the.  life  of  Mr. 
Phillips  had  been  spent  at  the  institution.  He  had  been  book- 
keeper and  purchasing  agent  and  was  familiar  with  the  details  of  the 
work  in  every  department. 

To  the  arduous  labors  of  his  new  position  he  devoted  all  his 
energies.  He  made  apparent  to  the  members  of  the  Thirty-sixth 
General  Assembly  the  needs  of  the  institution  the  result  of  which 
was  increased  appropriations  for  ordinary  expense  and  generous 
provision  for  necessary  improvements. 


36 

LEGISLATION REGULAR  APPROPRIATION. 

1887-88,  Ordinary  expense,  $32,000;  repairs  and  improve- 
ments  $1,500  00 

1888-89,  Ordinary  expense,  $32,000;   repairs  and  improve- 
ments..'   1,500  00 

1889-90,  Ordinary  expense,  $38,000;   repairs  and   improve- 
ments  2,000  00 

SPECIAL  APPROPRIATIONS. 

Legislature  of  1887: 

For  paving  one-half  the  width  of  street $3,400  00 

For  building  laundry  and  purchasing  appliances 5,000  00 

For  fire-escapes 1,200  00 

Legislature  of  1889: 

For  repairs  to  cornice $  1,000  00 

For  piano-tuning  and  repair  department 3,000  00 

For  cottage  for  girls 18,000  00 

For  covered  walk  for  girls 1,000  00 

For  repairs  to  chapel 4,350  00 

With  these  funds,  work  was  done  and  buildings  erected  as  fol- 
lows: 

East  State  Street  (to  the  center  of  the  street),  in  front  of  the 
grounds  of  the  institution,  was  paved  with  vitrified  brick.  A  brick 
laundry,  thirty  by  sixty  feet  was  erected  and  equipped  with  all 
needed  appliances;  complete  fire-escapes  were  provided  for  the 
main  building.  The  cornice  of  the  main  building  was  thoroughly 
repaired.  Of  the  $1,000  appropriated  for  this  purpose,  $455.97 
reverted  to  the  state  treasury. 

A  most  elegant  building  was  erected  near  the  west  end  of  the 
grounds.  This  edifice  is  of  brick  and  is  known  as  the  Girls'  Cot- 
tage. It  is  now  (1893),  occupied  by  four  of  our  teachers  and 
about  forty  blind  girls,  there  being  from  two  to  four  in  each  room. 
In  this  building  the  pupils  do  their  own  "  room-work." 

The  repairs  to  the  chapel  were  made  necessary  by  a  serious  set- 
tling of  the  floor,  and  a  fear  of  dangerous  imperfection  in  the  walls 
themselves.  The  settling  occurred  when  there  was  a  large  audience 
upon  the  floor,  and  through  the  presence  of  mind  of  the  Superin- 
tendent, W.  S.  Phillips,  a  serious  catastrophe  was  averted.  Com- 
petent advice  was  secured  and  the  chapel  (and  consequently  the 
dining-room  beneath  it)  was  greatly  enlarged  and  made  thorough- 
ly substantial  and  secure. 

An  attractive  exercise  walk  was  built  with  the  $1,000  appropri- 
ated for  this  purpose. 


38 

With  regard  to  the  expenditure  of  the  $3,000  appropriated  for 
the  piano-tuning  and  repair  department,  there  was  some  slight  mis- 
understanding between  the  Secretary  of  the  Commissioners  of 
Public  Charities  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Superintendent  and 
trustees  on  the  other  hand.  It  resulted  in  the  expenditure  of  this 
money  for  the  most  part  for  tools  to  be  used  in  tuning  and  repair- 
ing, and  in  the  payment  of  the  salary  of  a  competent  teacher  in  tun- 
ing, for  several  years. 

It  is  not  improper  to  say  that  the  special  appropriations  made 
by  the  Legislature  of  1889,  were  secured  largely  through  the  ef- 
forts of  Mr.  Phillips,  and  that  the  improvements  that  were  thereby 
made  possible,  a  brief  description  of  which  appears  upon  the  pages 
immediately  preceding  this,  were  largely  due  to  his  enterprise  and 
administrative  ability.  The  Board  of  Trustees,  too,  during  this 
period  (Hon.  A.  C.  Wadsworth,  Judge  N.  "W.  Branson,  and  Hon. 
B.  F.  Funk),  were  all  men  of  exceptional  worth  and  ability.  Alive 
to  the  interests  of  the  institution,  they  spared  neither  time  nor  ef- 
fort in  its  behalf.  In  spite  of  some  unpleasant  episodes,  the  his- 
torian is  obliged — is  pleased,  to  declare  that  this  was  a  period  of 
unusual  prosperity. 

TEACHEBS    AND    OFFICERS. 

In  October,  1888,  Mr.  Charles  A.  Hiuchee  was  employed  as 
boys'  supervisor  and  teacher  in  the  physical  culture  department. 
He  resigned  in  February,  1890,  and  Maj.  C.  E.  McDougall  was 
elected  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  term  1889-90  Thomas  Dower,  a  former 
pupil  who  had  been  acting  as  assistant  foreman  in  the  broom-shop, 
was  put  on  the  pay  roll. 

In  the  autumn  of  1889  Miss  Margaret  Taylor  was  employed  and 
put  in  charge  of  a  kindergarten.  The  Superintendent  selected  the 
largest  and  best  room  at  his  command  and  caused  it  to  be  fitted  up 
and  furnished  with  every  needed  appliance.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  kindergarten  work  in  the  institution.  It  should  continue 
as  long  as  the  institution  lasts.  Miss  Taylor  resigned  in  1891. 

NUMBER   OF    PUPILS    ENROLLED. 
Term  of  1888-89 171.      Term  of  1889-90 188. 

At  the  close  of  this  period,  blind  persons  to  the  number  of  nine 
hundred  and  seventy-eight  had  availed  themselves  of  the  privileges 
of  the  institution. 


39 

1890  TO  APRIL  1,  1893. 
BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES-1890. 

A.  C.  WADSWOBTH,  Jacksonville,  President, 

N.  W.  BRANSON,  Petersburg,       BENJAMIN  F.  FUNK,  Bloomington. 
FRANK  H.  HALL,  Superintendent. 

On  July  1,  1890,  Mr.  Frank  H.  Hall,  who  had  had  twenty-five 
years'  experience  as  teacher  and  Superintendent  in  the  public 
schools  of  Illinois,  took  his  place  as  Superintendent  of  the  Institu- 
tion for  the  Blind  having  previously  made  a  brief  visit  to,  and  study 
of,  the  institutions  of  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
and  Louisville. 

LEGISLATION— REGULAR  APPROPRIATION. 

1890-91,  Ordinary  expense,  $38,000;  repairs  and  improve- 
ments  $2,000  00 

1891-92,  Ordinary  expense,  $40,000;  repairs  and  improve- 
ments   2,000  00 

1892-93,  Ordinary  Expense,  $40,000;  repairs  and  improve- 
ments   2,000  00 

SPECIAL  APPROPRIATIONS — 1891. 

For  constructing  and  furnishing  a  building  to  be  used  as 

a  dormitory  for  blind  shop-hands $12,000  00 

For  enlarging  and  repairing  the  boiler-house,  etc 3,640  00 

For  constructing  a  kitchen  and  bakery 7,500  00 

For  extra  repairs,  improvements  and  appliances  necessary 

to  provide  suitable  accommodations  for  sick  inmates    2,000  00 
For  purchasing  apparatus,  school  and  mechanical 3,000  00 

These  funds  have  been  for  the  most  part  expended. 

A  building  in  which  are  sleeping-rooms,  sitting-room  and  read- 
ing-room, sufficient  for  fifty  blind  men,  was  erected  a  few  rods  east 
of  the  main  building.  It  is  now  occupied  by  thirty-eight  men, 
while  two  rooms  are  used  for  instruction  and  practice  in  piano-tun- 
ing. The  foreman  of  the  shop  also  has  rooms  for  himself  and  wife 
in  this  building. 

A  new  sixteen-foot,  sixty-inch  boiler  was  set  and  the  boiler- 
house  enlarged,  so  that  when  it  shall  become  necessary  to  cast  aside 
the  three  fourteen-foot,  forty-eight-inch  boilers  now  in  use,  they 
may  be  replaced  with  boilers  equal  in  capacity  to  the  one  recently 
purchased.  A  large  double-acting  steam  pump  was  purchased, 
and  so  set  and  connected  that  water  may  be  drawn  from  either  of 
two  wells  or  from  the  city  water  mains,  and  thrown  into  the  boilers 
or  into  the  pipes  that  supply  water  for  ordinary  use  and  for  pro- 
tection againet  fire. 


40 

An  ample  kitchen  and  bakery  were  provided,  a  twelve-foot  rotary 
oven  was  set  in  place,  in  which  all  our  baking  is  done.  At  present 
we  use  one  barrel  of  flour  each  day  while  school  is  in  session. 

Near  the  new  kitchen  a  convenient  store-room  was  provided,  and 
the  old  store-house  converted  into  a  hospital.  This  is  now  an  iso- 
lated building  two  stories  high  with  four  rooms,  besides  halls  and 
closets  on  the  first  floor.  These  rooms  are  a  boys'  ward,  a  girls' 
ward,  a  sleeping-room  for  nurses,  and  a  kitchen.  Ordinarily  the 
rooms  on  the  first  floor  furnish  sufficient  accommodation  for  our  sick 
inmates;  but  in  case  of  severe  illness,  epidemic  or  contagious 
disease,  the  second  floor  can  be  occupied. 

With  the  $3,000  for  purchasing  apparatus,  we  have  provided 
valuable  broom  machinery  for  the  shop,  philosophical  apparatus 
and  physiological  models  for  the  high  school,  specimens  in  natural 


THE    HALL    BRAILLE-WRITER. 

history  for  all  departments,  and  appliances  for  the  kindergarten.  A 
complete  printing  outfit  has  been  provided.  This  includes  movable 
type  for  printing  "Boston  Line"  (raised  letters),  New  York  Point 
(literature  and  music),  and  Braille  music;  a  small  "Army  Press," 
and  a  large  Kidder  hand- press.  Under  the  direction  of  the  Super- 
intendent, a  machine  for  writing  Braille  has  been  constructed  by 
which  the  pupil  can  write  many  times  as  fast  as  he  could  write  with 
a  "  stylus  and  tablet,"  with  the  further  advantage  of  having  what 
he  has  written  in  a  convenient  position  to  be  read.  This  machine  is 
known  as  the  Hall  Braille-writer.  With  these  machines  the  pupils 
solve  their  problems  in  algebra  and  write  their  letters  and  school 
exercises.  Although  the  first  machine  was  not  completed  till  May 


42 

27,  1892,  twenty-five  are  now  in  use  in  this  institution,  and  about 
seventy-five  have  been  constructed  and  sold  to  other  institutions 
and  to  blind  people.  Fourteen  are  in  use  in  the  Boston  school, 
nine  in  St.  Louis,  twelve  in  Philadelphia,  six  in  Alabama,  two  in 
California,  five  have  been  shipped  to  England,  and  the  remainder  to 
private  individuals  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States. 

A  machine  has  also  been  constructed  (the  Hall  Stereotype - 
maker,  cut  on  page  43),  by  means  of  which  work  can  be  written  on 
copper  plates.  These  plates  can  be  used  as  stereotypes  for  printin  g 
with  an  ordinary  press.  Thousands  of  copies  can  be  printed  from 
each  plate.  Several  hundred  such  plates  have  been  made,  most  of 
the  work  of  preparing  them  having  been  done  by  blind  persons.  Al- 
though this  machine  was  not  completed  until  January  4,  1893,  a 
similar  one  is  now  in  use  in  the  St.  Louis  School  for  the  Blind,  and 
another  will  be  shipped  to  the  Philadelphia  school  in  a  few  days. 

This  appropriation  also  enabled  us  to  purchase  two  Hammond 
typewriters,  three  Remingtons  and  ten  Merritts.  Our  "  typewriting 
room "  contains,  besides  the  typewriters  here  mentioned,  six 
Braille-writers;  and  nearly  one  hundred  pupils  receive  instruction 
and  practice  on  one  or  more  of  these  machines  daily. 

TEACHERS. 

Miss  Edith  Paxtou  was  employed  as  assistant  in  the  high 
school  at  the  beginning  of  the  term  1891—92.  Before  the  end  of  the 
year  her  health  failed,  and  her  physician  advised  rest.  She  was  not 
able  to  return  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  year,  but  gradually  be- 
came weaker,  and  on  Saturday  evening,  January  21,  1893,  a  few 
hours  after  caressing  a  little  blind  boy  that  had  called  to  "  see  "  her, 
she  fell  asleep.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  blind  chil- 
dren of  Illinois  lost  a  most  faithful  friend  when  Miss  Edith  passed 
to  her  long  home. 

Mrs.  Mary  Redick  Bayly,  who  had  been  employed  as  a  teacher 
in  the  Ohio  Institution  many  years  ago,  accepted  the  position  of 
kindergartener  in  the  fall  of  1891.  She  served  the  blind  of  the 
state  most  industriously  and  conscientiously  for  one  year. 

NUMBER    OF    PUPILS    ENROLLED. 

Term  of  1890-91 217        Term  of  1891-92 .....241 

AVERAGE    DAILY    ATTENDANCE. 
Term  of  1890-91 ..  ..186        Term  of  1891-92. .  ..216 


43 


THE    HALL    STEREOTYPE-MAKER. 

With  this  machine  a  copper  stereotype  may  be  written  in  Braille  (either 
English  or  American)  almost  as  rapidly  as  one  can  write  on  paper  with  the  Hall 
Braille-writer.  Either  single  plates,  or  double  plates  for  interlining,  may  be 
written  upon  it.  The  machine  is  simple  and  substantial  in  its  construction,  and 
requires  but  little  skill  to  operate  it.  One  of  the  pupils  of  the  Illinois  Institution 
for  the  Blind,  after  a  few  hours'  practice,  wrote  four  lines  of  a  familiar  hymn,  on 
a  copper  plate  of  sufficient  thickness  to  "  stand  up  "  under  thousands  of  impres 
sions,  in  one  and  one-half  minutes. 


MARCH  23,   1893 — PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL. 

There  are  now  212  pupils  in  attendance.  Of  these,  thirty-six 
are  men  in  the  shop  department,  and  five  are  women  in  the  sewing- 
rooms.  Of  the  remaining  171,  ninety-one  are  males  and  eighty  are 
females. 

The  entire  enrollment  from  the  opening  of  the  school  in  1849 
up  to  the  present  time,  is  1,141. 

LITERARY    DEPARTMENT. 

In  this  department  there  are  three  divisions :  First,  the  kinder- 
garten and  primary  grades;  second,  the  intermediate  and  gram- 
mar grades;  third,  the  high  school. 

The  second  division  is  subdivided  into  four  sections  of  boys  and 
four  sections  of  girls. 

The  teachers  and  their  terms  of  service  are  as  follows: 

HIGH    SCHOOL. 

Prof.  L.  M.  Coates,  one  year. 

DIVISION  2. 

Teacher  of  geography,  Miss  Mattie  Bevans,  six  years;  teacher 
of  reading  and  history,  Miss  Tillie  Johnson  (blind),  two  years; 
teacher  of  arithmetic,  Prof.  George  R.  Parker  (blind),  eight  years; 
teacher  of  language,  Miss  Eva  Hewes,  two  years  as  assistant  ma- 
tron and  two  years  as  teacher. 

DIVISION  1. 

Miss  Harriet  Rees  assisted  by  the  more  advanced  pupils,  one 
year. 

Miss  Minnie  Bacon,  term  of  service  two  years,  is  employed  half 
of  her  time  as  teacher  in  the  "typewriting  room,"  and  the  other 
half  as  assistant  in  the  high  school.  Miss  Nina  M.  Hall,  term  of 
service  one  year,  devotes  half  of  her  time  to  work  in  the  "type- 
writing room." 

MUSIC    DEPARTMENT. 

Prof.  Day,  of  whom  mention  has  been  made  before,  is  in  charge 
of  the  music  department.  He  gives  instruction  to  several  pupils  on 
the  pipe-organ,  teaches  the  harmony  and  chorus  classes,  and 
arranges  all  the  music  work.  One  hundred  and  fifteen  pupils 


45 

receive  instruction  regularly  on  the  piano,  fifty-two  on  the  violin, 
ten  on  the  pipe-organ,  and  several  on  each  of  the  following  instru- 
ments: cornet,  violoncello,  viola,  piccolo,  French  horn,  euphonium, 
etc.  Thirty-five  have  instruction  in  harmony,  twenty-five  in  vocal 
music,  while  the  chorus  class  (taught  always  by  Prof.  Day)  usu- 
ally numbers  about  forty.  For  all  these  subdivisions,  most  of  the 
music  is  printed  on  our  own  press,  and  a  copy  put  into  the  hands  of 
each  learner.  Several  teachers  and  pupils  use  the  Stereotype- 
maker.  A  person  with  sight  (or  two  blind  persons)  can  prepare 
the  stereotype  for  a  page  of  music  in  fifteen  minutes.  Several 
hundred  copies  per  hour  can  be  pi-inted  on  our  Kidder  press. 

Prof.  Day's  assistants  and  their  terms  of  service  in  the  Illinois 
Institution  are  given  below: 

Prof.  M.  H.  Grist,  teacher  of  violin  and  other  orchestral  instru- 
ments, three  years;  Miss  Susie  Draper,  piano,  eleven  years;  Miss 
Alice  Clarke  (blind),  piano,  three  years;  Prof.  L.  M.  Hitt,  vocal, 
two  years;  W.  H.  Jackson,  teacher  of  piano-tuning  and  repairing, 
five  years;  Charles  Tederstrom  (blind),  assistant  in  piano-tuning, 
two  years. 

WOEK    DEPARTMENT. 

The  subdivisions  of  this  department  are  as  follows; 

1.  The  broom  shop. 

2.  The  girls'  work-rooms. 

3.  The  boys'  work-room. 

William  R.  Boyer  has  been  for  the  past  two  years  foreman  of 
the  broom  shop.  About  thirty  blind  men  are  here  employed  mainly 
as  apprentices  in  broom-making.  The  sales  from  the  shop  are  now 
over  $3,000  per  annum,  while  during  the  last  year  ten  men  have 
been  sent  out  to  attempt  to  earn  their  livelihood  as  broom-makers. 
Some  of  these  are  successful. 

In  the  girls'  work-rooms,  chair- caning,  sewing  by  hand  and  on 
machines,  crocheting,  knitting,  the  making  of  bead-work  and  horse 
nets  and  hammocks,  are  taught.  The  sales  from  these  rooms  amount 
to  from  $15  to  $25  per  month.  Miss  Jennie  Clark,  who  has  been 
connected  with  the  institution  for  many  years,  is  in  charge  of  one  of 
these  rooms,  and  Mrs.  Clyde  H.  Hall,  whose  term  of  service  is  three 
years,  is  in  charge  of  the  other. 

Mr.  Thomas  Dower  (blind)  is  in  charge  of  the  boys'  work- 
room. His  term  of  service  is  four  years.  In  this  room  the  boys 


46 

are  taught  chair-caning,   and  the  older  ones  receive  instruction  in 
horse-net  and  hammock-making. 

A  "  Sloyd-room  "  has  been  opened  this  year  in  which  attempts 
are  being  made  to  give  manual  training  by  working  in  wood.  The 
room  is  provided  with  a  lathe  and  full  sets  of  wood-working  tools. 
Mr.  Henry  Edwards,  a  pupil  in  the  high  school,  is  in  charge  of  this 
room. 

During  the  last  two  years  nearly  all  the  correspondence  of  the 
Superintendent's  office  has  been  done  with  a  Remington  typewriter 
operated  by  a  blind  pupil.  Mr.  Frank  Stoddard,  of  Hillsboro,  a 
member  of  the  class  of  1893,  has  done  a  large  part  of  this  work. 
He  writes  from  dictation  at  the  rate  of  thirty  to  forty  words  a 
minute,  and  his  work  is  unusually  free  from  errors.  When  several 
copies  of  a  paper  or  a  letter  are  required,  he  writes  first  from  dic- 
tation upon  the  Braille-writer  and,  from  the  embossed  copy  thus 
provided,  makes  the  requisite  number  of  copies  with  the  Eemington. 
A  large  part  of  the  work  with  the  stereotype-maker  has  been 
done  by  Mr.  Arthur  Jewell,  a  young  man  who  graduated  from  the 
institution  in  the  class  of  1886,  and  who  returned  for  instruc- 
tion in  piano-tuning.  He  writes  in  copper  rapidly  and  accur- 
ately, reads  and  corrects  his  own  proof,  and  operates  the  press 
without  difficulty.  His  reading  of  proof,  with  the  fore  finger  of 
•the  left  hand  on  his  embossed  copy,  and  the  fore  finger  of  the  right 
hand  on  his  stereotype,  thus  reading  simultaneously  both  the  copy 
and  the  proof,  called  forth  the  expression  from  an  observer,  "  It 
beats  eyes  all  to  pieces."  Since  January  4,  1893,  Mr.  Jewell, 
besides  doing  his  work  as  a  pupil,  has  written  several  hundred 
copper  plates. 

Mrs.  Frank  H.  Hall  has  been  Matron  for  the  last  three  years 
She  has  generously  taken  upon  herself  the  employment  and  manage- 
ment of  all  the  female  help,  and  has  personally  apportioned  and 
supervised  the  work  done  by  twenty-six  women.  In  this  she  has 
been  ably  assisted  by  Miss  Jean  Cunningham,  who  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  institution  sixteen  years,  and  has  had  charge  of 
the  kitchen  and  dining-room  for  three  years.  Her  success  in  this 
work  has  been  marked,  and  is  due  to  her  unusual  good  judg- 
ment, to  her  untiring  zeal,  and  to  her  almost  ceaseless  energy  and 
activity. 

Mrs.  Hall  has  given  personal  attention  to  the  purchasing  of 
and  keeping  in  order,  the  clothing  of  the  younger  pupils,  and  to 


47 

providing  for  the  many  wants  of  children  in  darkness  and  with- 
out a  mother's  care.  In  this  work  she  has  ever  found  a  most 
competent  assistant — one  whose  worth  can  not  be  told  in  words — 
in  Miss  Katie  Hal  pin,  who  has  been  employed  at  the  institution 
seven  years,  and  who,  during  the  last  three  years,  has  acted  the 
part  of  mother  to  twenty-five  or  thirty  blind  boys.  She  has 
washed  their  faces,  combed  their  hair  and  taught  them  to  do 
these  things  for  themselves.  She  has  taken  splinters  out  of  fing- 
ers, attended  to  sprains,  bumps,  cuts  and  bruises;  she  has  wiped 
away  tears  from  sightless  eyes  weeping  for  a  far-away  mother, 
listened  to  childish  complaints,  bathed  feverish  brows,  and  in  one 
instance,  at  the  touching  request  of  a  dying  boy,  she  took  him  in 
her  lap,  and  held  him  in  her  arms  while  his  spirit  passed  away 
from  earth.  Many  a  blind  boy  in  Illinois  will  never  forget  "  Miss 
Kathy." 

.Tljere  are  many  others  too  who  have  been  employed  here  who 
are  worthy  of  honorable  mention,  did  space  permit.  Miss  Jennie 
Clark,  who  has  been  employed  here  since  1876,  has  shown  much 
self-denial  and  patient  devotion  to  duty.  Miss  Alice  Smith,  who 
has  been  in  charge  of  the  younger  girls  for  the  past  two  years  has 
been  very  helpful,  and  attentive  to  the  wants  of  those  under  her 
charge.  Miss  Titia  Grant,  continuously  since  1885,  and  for  many 
years  prior  to  that  time  has  alike  served  the  interests  of  the  blind 
and  those  who  have  given  her  employment. 

Maj.  C.  E.  McDougall,  as  ^Boys'  Supervisor ;  Byron  Gray,  as 
Superintendent  of  Construction  and  Repairs  (oftentimes — indeed 
usually — not  only  superintendent  but  laborer  as  well) ;  E.  C. 
Schureman  as  bookkeeper,  and  Clyde  H.  Hall  as  store-keeper  and 
purchasing  agent,  have  all  proved  themselves  competent  in  their 
several  departments,  and  in  a  high  degree  worthy  of  confidence 
and  esteem. 

The  writer  of  this  brief  history  is  aware  that  it  is  wanting  in 
a  most  essential  part,  viz.:  the  record  of  what  has  been  accom- 
plished after  leaving  the  institution  by  those  who  have  enjoyed 
the  advantages  so  generously  provided  for  them  by  the  state. 

The  records  in  the  office  of  the  Superintendent,  bearing  upon 
the  subject,  are  so  incomplete,  and  the  time  allowed  for  prepara- 
tion of  this  sketch  so  short,  that  no  satisfactory  account  can  be 
given,  of  the  occupations  and  achievements  of  former  pupils.  This 
important  work  must  be  left  for  the  future  historian. 


48 

One  of  the  results  of  the  victory  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
the  elections  of  November,  1892,  was  the  resignation  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Board  of  Trustees.  Early  in  the  following  March,  Gov. 
Altgeld  appointed  their  successors  who  met  and  organized,  March 
31,  1893. 


BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES-1893. 
HON.  CHARLES  A.  BARNES,  Jacksonville,  President, 
JUDGE  HENRY  PHILLIPS,  Virginia,       HON.  A.  L.  LOWE,  Robinson. 

By  request  of  the  new  Board  at  their  April  meeting,  Mr.  Frank 
H.  Hall  tendered  his  resignation  as  superintendent  to  take  effect 
July  1,  1893,  and  Kev.  W.  F.  Short,  D.  D.  was  appointed  to  fill  the 
vacancy. 


•  Lithomount 

•  Pamphlet  • 

•  Binders  <$,» 

•k     r    ,    ,  ,jaj 

Gaylord  Bros.  Inc. 

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Bakers 
I    Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

•^^^^^ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS- URBANA 

362.4IL6JH  C001 

A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  INSTITUT 


